Captured Hearts
by SweetStories11
Summary: Princess Katara? Yes she's a princess in the Northern Water Tribe,along with other siblings. How you may ask? GranGran stayed of course! What begins as a normal day changes Katara's life and sets off a chain of events. ZUTARA! more inside!
1. Chapter 1

Captured Hearts 

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Avatar, duh. But I so DO own this plot!

BACKGROUND: Princess Katara? Yes. She is royalty of the northern water tribe, along with Princess Yue, and Prince Sokka. Here's the tricky part: Yue and Sokka are sister and brother, but Katara is their half-sister. How's that? Well, Gran-Gran stayed to marry Pakku, so Katara's grandfather is the well-known Master Water Bender! Let's see… so Katara's mother's first husband died, so she married Yue and Sokka's dad, leader of the water tribe. THEN she had Katara. Do you understand this complicated mess? Lol So in essence, Katara's mom, let's call her Shira, is still alive and well. Her dad, leader of the water tribe will be called, Nasu. They have NOT discovered Aang. That is a major key to this. They are just living normal lives, wondering when the Fire Nation will attack. Here comes Zuko into this fic. His mission IS NOT to capture the Avatar. He is Iroh's son, and his cousin Zula is heir to the throne, so basically he is second-rate royalty. His mission is to find out as much as possible about the water tribe and report back, but really he is banished because he attacked Zula.

One more thing, everyone is a year older, so Zuko- 17, Katara- 15 (she will turn 16 later on), Sokka/Yue- 17. Right off the bat, I'm going to tell you that their personalities are different.

This first chapter is mostly Katara based, but there is some Zutara, no worries lol

CHAPTER 1 

The soft rippling of the water against her feet was so comforting. Sunshine glistened upon the waves and it warmed her from the inside out. She was outside of the Northern water tribe's entrance. It felt so free to be outside of the towering walls, she was never allowed to step foot outside of them, but today Katara found a way to pass by the guards. Suddenly she stood up and stretched out her arms. Longingly she looked at the water; she wanted so badly to practice her bending, but her grandfather warned her not to do that. It was forbidden for women to learn how to water bend, but he had seen the potential in her when she was just a little girl, so he trained her secretly at night. Katara sighed, but smiled to herself as she soaked in the beauty of the morning sun.

Her fun ended.

"Princess Katara!"

She rolled her eyes, as she turned around to see two guards coming towards her.

"Princess Katara, you mustn't wander out here by yourself. It could be dangerous for you."

"Sure. Dangerous," she responded sarcastically.

The two guards walked her back towards the wall. Not known to them, a pair of golden eyes had watched the whole thing.

The two guards bowed to her, as she dismissed them back to their original guard keeping duties. Everyone was already out and about, tending to their daily businesses. Some were selling food, others were selling toys, and others were shopping for the upcoming annual ball, which so happened to be around the day she turned sixteen. Up ahead, she saw a group of little kids trying to water bend. Katara smiled, and she went up to them. Automatically, the kids recognized her, and they jumped at her knees.

"Katara! Play with us!"

She smiled warmly. These kids were what made her life here somewhat bearable. They didn't treat her like royalty all the time, just another ordinary girl they could play with.

"Sure, why not?"

So she spent about an hour just chasing them around the markets, and across the bridges, all the way until they reached the small palace, which she called home. On the steps was her father, Nasu, leader of the water tribe. For some reason, she had never liked him, and he hadn't like her. This was most likely because he favored his other two children, Sokka and Yue. They were twins, but not identical, they were fraternal. Yue was beautiful; everyone knew that. Sokka was handsome you could say, and he was built as a tough warrior by Nasu. Their mother died when they had both turned one year old. Right after that, Nasu married Shira, and she had Katara. They didn't like her either, but that didn't matter, because she didn't like them at all either.

"Katara, where have you been?" Nasu asked sternly, and coldly.

"Father, I was just showing these children around. It seemed as if no one was watching them, so I decided it would be best if…"

"Well, it seems as if you've forgotten all about your duties, and instead, you have decided to escort somebody's children around their already familiar home. Go get changed; lunch will be served soon."

Katara looked down at the ground sadly.

"Yes father."

Nasu left Katara standing there, with all of the children standing quietly in a huddled group behind her. She turned around to them, and attempted to sound cheerful.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I have to go."

"But Katara! We were just playing with you, and the game won't be the same without you!"

"I know," she patted the little girl's head, "I promise I will come back as soon as I can."

All of the kids cheered at hearing this, and she smiled broadly. It felt nice to be loved by someone; even if was just a group of little kids.

Katara walked up the steps, and two guards opened the doors for her. She walked on with a depressed air about her. The distance from the doors to her room wasn't far at all. Another way she figured her father had something against her. Just as she was about to go in, two of the people on her 'Most Hated' list popped out from out of nowhere. They gave her an exact same pair of smirks, and she rolled her eyes.

"What do you guys want?"

"Oh Katara, what's the matter?" asked Sokka innocently with a hidden cruelness that wasn't really hidden.

"Yeah, are you sad you can't be like the little kids outside?" chimed in Yue with a chuckle.

Katara growled at them, but they laughed even more. She pushed them aside, and opened the door to her room forcefully.

"Well don't worry Katara, you are already like them, you're beneath us."

She sent a death glare at the twins, and she slammed the door into their faces. Their laughter was still heard, and Katara let out an angry yell. Finally she heard their voices disappear down the hall. It seemed like everyone hated her. She sighed and decided that she should go change. Nothing really mattered to her, so she just picked a simple outfit, nothing too special. Then again, she never had anything that special to begin with. She mostly got Yue's hand me down's. Each day she felt how inferior she was. Yue's mother was of actual royalty. Her mother, Shira, was only special because she was the daughter of Pakku, the master water bender. So Katara could be considered half-royalty, if you could even call it that. Because of it, she didn't have any servants that helped her, but she didn't want any. Katara believed that it would be cruel of her, to have someone catering to her every need.

When she was ready, she stepped outside of her room, only to hear the gong ring throughout the palace. Inside, she cursed herself; she was late once again. The only thing to do now was run. So she did, and as she did, all of the guards looked at one another curiously, and then they shook their heads. Katara burst through the doors to the room, to find everyone's eyes on her. First she saw the grinning faces of Sokka and Yue, then her father, frowning, and angry. Her eyes wandered down the table to her grandfather and grandmother. Their eyes showed sympathy, but the look that her mother gave her was like torture. Shira's eyes sent a chilling message to her; I love you, but couldn't you just for once be on time? Katara looked away, and walked to her empty seat slowly.

"Looks like you're late once again."

"Yes father. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Katara's head shot up as she heard the stifled laughter come out of Sokka and Yue. Nasu looked at them sternly, and they fell silent immediately.

"It better not."

Three words, but they were so powerful. He was warning her. But of what? Would he punish her for something as simple as being late to lunch? Everyone was quiet as they ate. Katara didn't have much of an appetite, but she had to eat something. Once she was done, she stood up, and again all eyes were on her.

"May I be excused please?"

Nasu nodded his head. Katara was out the door as quickly as was possible. She closed the door to the room she had left, but it was opened again. Katara spun around when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up into her mother's face.

"Katara…"

She couldn't help it. She wrapped her arms around her mother, and Shira returned the embrace. Out of everyone in her family, only her mother, grandmother, and grandfather actually loved her. So whenever she wasn't around anyone else but them, the whole royalty thing faded away. Her mother was just mom to her.

"Oh mom… why does everyone hate me?"

Shira patted her daughter's head, and then lifted her chin up so that they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Sweetheart, I love you. You know that."

Katara smiled, and wiped away the tears on her face.

"And your father loves you too," Shira added quietly.

Katara chuckled, but fell silent when her mother gave her a look.

"Be strong Katara. You are more than anyone else in that room is. Remember that."

She nodded. "I'll try to."

"Good."

Shira smiled, and went back into the room to join the rest of her family. Katara could always count on her mom to make her feel better. It was late in the afternoon already, so she didn't feel like going out of the palace again. Instead, Katara just went back to her room, which again was conveniently far away from everything in the palace.

When she got to her room, she fell onto her bed. It felt like her room was somehow her get away from everything that would bother her. Suddenly she sat up straight, with a wide smile on her face. Quickly, she got to her window, and opened it. Her windows were more like glass doors, and on the other side of them, was just a small pond of frozen water. Using her bending abilities, she created a warm relaxing hot tub within the snow. She would do this whenever she felt like the world was on her shoulders. Katara slipped off her clothes, and stepped into the warmth of the water. Bit by bit, all of worries began to dissolve away into nothing. The sun began to set as well, and she could see the warm reds, oranges, and yellows mix together in the sky. Everything was so soothing, that she almost fell asleep. That is, until she heard voices coming from the hall. Two voices she remembered distinctly. It was Sokka and Yue.

Her mind began to race. When she looked at her doors to her room, she saw that she had forgotten to lock them. Katara bit her lip, and looked around everywhere. How could she have been so stupid to forget to lock her doors? If they came in, and saw her in a pool of water, that was never there before, she would be in the prisons within a second. Just because of her water bending, she wouldn't even be allowed to be a person anymore. But wait… that was it! Her water bending could help her now. Quickly, Katara pushed her hand towards her door, and a blast of water shot at it. Just as Yue was going to pull the door open, the water hit it, and froze the two doors together.

Yue pulled on the doors, but she frowned when she couldn't open them.

"Katara! Open up!"

"No. Go away!"

Yue pouted, and Sokka just waved a hand.

"Just forget it Yue. We can get her another day."

Her eyes began to sparkle.

"Oh really Sokka? Do you already have something in mind?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Well, no not right now. But I'm sure an opportunity will be presented to us soon."

Katara heard their mumbling voices drift away for the second time that day, and she sighed with relief. She looked up to the sky, and saw that the sun had already set, and it was dark out now. That must have been the reason why they had come to bother her again, was because she had missed dinner. Katara rolled her eyes. Did it really matter anymore? What was it to her father, if she was there or not? Well maybe there was some little feeling inside him for her; after all she was his daughter.

Katara got out of her warm bath, and wrapped herself up in a towel. She waved her arms flawlessly, and the bath disappeared. In its place was the ground covered in snow. Pakku had showed her this trick a couple of years ago, and now she couldn't help but smirk at the fact that she could do something that Yue could never do. Unfortunately, she could never brag about it.

Katara let her mind free itself of all negative thoughts as she caressed herself in amazingly soft lotion that her grandmother had given her. Her tan skin shined with more beauty than before, and when she ran her hands down her arms, Katara smiled to herself. She let her wet hair down, and she combed it through until it was sleek, shiny, and not wet anymore. To sum it up, her hair was combed to its utmost beauty. Finally, she walked to her closet, and took out a silver silk nightgown. It had thin straps, and it shaped her chest in a V. It was trimmed with a small amount of lace, and when she slipped it on over her head, it snuggly fit her every curve. Katara looked at herself in her mirror, and couldn't help but smile. Her mother was right; she was better than the rest of them. She was beautiful, inside and out.

Suddenly, she shivered. Katara looked to her left, and saw the curtains from her windows blowing in the breeze. She quickly walked over to them, and closed them. Next, she pulled back the curtains, and breathed in deeply. Slowly, she turned around, and when she did, she could have sworn her body and mind went into complete shock. Standing there in front of her, in her room, which she had locked, was a man. Someone she had never seen before, but she felt so drawn to him somehow. His golden eyes diverted her attention to him, and only him. He wasn't smiling, just standing there in a white outfit. She finally realized that around his left eye, he had a scar, probably from a fire bending accident. Wait, how did she know it was because of fire bending?

They stood there, feet away from each other, for what seemed like forever in silence. Finally the trance was broken. Zuko's lips curled into a small smirk.

"Are you sure you're not a fire bender, because you are damn hot."

Katara's eyes widened. She looked down at herself, and only then did she realize she was standing there in her nightgown, which showed off her best features. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red, and she put up her arms around her shoulders. It looked like he was going to take a step towards her, and everything inside of her went off like an alarm. Naturally she screamed her lungs out.

Instantly, what seemed like a dozen guards bulldozed their way through the frozen doors, and into the room. In a second's time, Zuko was surrounded, and his hands were cuffed behind his back. They led him out of the room, but before he was lost from her gaze, his golden eyes locked into her blue ones. His lips weren't curled into a smirk anymore, instead he looked somewhat frightened, and his eyes called out to her. _Help me_.

They were gone, and Katara's rapidly beating heart couldn't keep up with her. Her eyes slowly closed, and she fell onto her bed, wondering who on earth that man had been.

**A/N:** Good start? I hope so! This fic is gonna be longer than my last one, for sure! I'm planning on 10 chapters… maybe possible 11, and most will be long, or longer lol I know most of you probably hate my guts now for making Yue and Sokka so evil and mean… but I need it for the story. And no, Zuko is not gonna be all "smooth talker" I just thought that line was funny, so I wanted him to say it lol

**NEXT:** Katara can't stop thinking about that guy, and what will happen to him. Looks like she is worried about a _complete_ stranger! lol


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Awesomeness! Already got the next chapter for you! I just love winter break!

CHAPTER 2

Katara woke up soon after she had fainted. She put her hand to her head and shook it slightly. Had she dreamed it all? The two doors to her room remained wide open; no it wasn't a dream. The first thought that came to her was how uncanny it all was. Her father had obviously not cared about her safety at all. She figured he only cared because it was a trespasser; it didn't matter that it was a trespasser into his daughter's room. If it had been Yue though, he himself would have ran to her to see if she was okay.

Oh wait, the trespasser. Katara shivered and went to her closet to get herself a robe. She took the first one she saw. It happened to be silvery blue. She tied the knot, and walked out of her room, not bothering to do anything with her hair. Who had he been? And why hadn't he killed her the first moment he saw her? Instead they just stood there looking at each other. A blush found its way onto Katara's cheeks, and she got angry with herself for it. She held onto her robe even more tightly than before as she scanned the deserted halls of the palace for any sign of life. Where was everyone?

No doubt with their newly found prisoner.

With this new thought in her mind, Katara set out for the Great Room. It was used for big gatherings, and not just any gatherings. Gatherings where they discussed the fate of the tribe, or what would be done with their prisoners. Suddenly she got a thought into her mind, and her stomach twisted into knots. What would they do to him? Most of the council members would surely question him; they weren't stupid to just kill him right then and there, right? For some reason, she didn't want him to die, and so the thought of it pushed her to get there even faster.

She snuck in without any trouble. The room was lit with blue candlelight; don't even ask. Her father had somehow managed to turn the light that burned from the candle a light blue color. With its tall ice columns and waterfall in the back, along with the moon shining down on them all, it looked like some kind of ceremony. Katara hid behind one of the ice columns and occasionally took the risk of poking her head out to look for him. His golden eyes were no doubt embedded into her mind, and his white outfit was easy to find among the mass of blue. His hands were tied behind his back and he looked a bit less afraid than before, although anyone would have been worried in that position. There were dozens of water benders and warriors in the room. She would have surely been scared beyond belief. Katara couldn't really see his face properly, so she risked getting caught, and hid behind one that was closer to the front of the room.

"Fellow members of our great tribe! You have been called here at this late hour of the night, to discuss an important matter! We have found a trespasser!"

Nasu finished his statement, while everyone else began to chatter and stare at Zuko. He knew that he should just play it cool. That of course meant he had to lie. Nasu held up a hand and the whispers died down.

"Does anyone wish to ask this man a question?"

An elder stood up and cleared his throat.

"Yes, I have a question. First thing I would like to know, is _who are you_?"

Zuko closed his eyes and prepared himself. Katara saw his expression, and at once knew that he was going to try his best to fake everything.

"My name is Zuko. I'm from the Earth Kingdom."

Katara was taken aback. Was he really from the Earth Kingdom? She could have sworn he was from the Fire Nation. And Zuko? His name sent chills up her spine.

"So, the Earth Kingdom? What are you doing here, without any word of your coming?"

Zuko steadied his breath as he began to unweave his false tale.

"My parents have been sent away; they're probably dead. Since then, I've wandered around a bit, and I thought it would be interesting to come visit the great northern water tribe."

Nasu cocked his right eyebrow, and glanced toward the nine other men on the tribe's council. Suddenly from the crowd, a woman stood up.

"How do we know he's not lying? He could be a spy!"

Murmurs surrounded the room, and the council joined in the speculation. Katara watched his eyes. She sensed a tension behind them. There was no way out for him; he was a liar and she wouldn't let him get away with it.

"Everyone, calm down. I'm sure the prisoner, I mean, Zuko, has proof that he poses no threat to us?"

All eyes were on Zuko, and he could feel the silence bite at him. He couldn't lie his way out of this one. He hung his head low, and didn't respond. Nasu's lips curled into a smirk. He was about to speak when Katara came out from behind the column and made herself present. She knew she would be yelled at for this; she wasn't allowed in the Great Room without permission. But she had to do it; she couldn't let Zuko get away with this.

"Katara? What are you doing here?" Nasu asked sternly, but quietly.

Zuko looked up to see her striding from her hiding place. While she walked slowly towards her father, she met his gaze and again she heard that silent message radiate from his golden eyes. _Help me._

She shook her head away from him, and finally reached her father's seat at the council table. Formally she bowed, and then stood up. Katara took a deep breath, and sighed.

"He's lying father. He's a trespasser; I was in my room and…"

"Yes?"

She wondered whether or not to continue. It was all too much for her; somehow she felt Zuko's eyes on her back.

"I was in my room, it was locked, and somehow he managed to get in… while I was getting ready for bed."

The last part shocked nearly everyone in the room. Zuko's flame of hope died when she said that. Nasu's eyes grew wide for a second, and then he slammed his fist into the table. Katara suddenly became scared of this new behavior in her father. He seemed angry, and no one would stop him. Tears began to form in her eyes, maybe her mother had been right; her father actually loved her.

"Not only is he a trespasser, but he is a danger to our tribe! I say we kill him!"

Katara stepped backwards and gasped. No, she hadn't wanted her father to kill him! Maybe just put him in prison, but not to commit murder! To her horror, the council members were nodding their heads in agreement. She lunged forward and grabbed her father's hand desperately. He picked her hand off of his, but she stood there, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Father no! You can't kill him! You just can't!"

"OH? And why not?"

Katara turned her head slightly towards where Zuko was still kneeling on the ground. Water benders had closed in on him, and were ready to do what their leader asked of them. Zuko's eyes burned into hers, and she knew in her heart what she had to do. Turning back towards her father, she wiped away her tears, and stood confidently before him.

"You can't kill someone for doing nothing worth killing him of. Yes, he trespassed into our city, and into my room… but he didn't _do_ anything. I suggest throwing him into the prisons. Otherwise, you would be noted as a cruel leader."

Katara couldn't believe she had just said that. She had stood up against her father, in front of all of the most important people in the tribe. For a second her breath escaped her, as Nasu lunged towards her. Her eyes widened, but then she reminded herself to stay strong.

"Katara… I have _never_ expected this kind of behavior out of you!"

His voice trembled with rage, but when he looked into his daughter's blue eyes, he knew she was right. He sighed, and Katara's pulse eased.

"But nevertheless, I believe you have a point. Council, do you agree with her proposition?"

Nasu looked at the members, and when he received a nod from each of them, he turned back to his daughter. Her eyes shined with hope, and heartbeat accelerated as she held onto each moment of silence.

"The council has come to a decision; the trespasser, Zuko, will now be our prisoner until further information is retained. Guards."

Katara spun around with a tremendous smile on her face, but it quickly vanished when she saw his face. His eyes looked wounded like a wolves. Her heart ached as she saw the water benders forcefully grab him. It was obvious they had been looking forward to killing him. Now all they had to do was take him to a prison cell. She stood there rooted to the ground and watched in agony as he was taken away. When the doors closed, everyone in the Great Room got up and began talking with each other about the event that had just taken place. The council members too had gone and were now mingled in with the masses of blue. She jerked when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Nasu held onto his daughter's shoulder with a firm grip so that she would recognize his importance.

"Katara, I need to speak with you."

She nodded and followed him out a door towards the side of the room, so that no one noticed their disappearance. Katara had never been in this room before, most likely because she wasn't usually allowed to be anywhere near the Great Room anyways. It looked more like a study however, and there were portraits on the walls of leaders before. There were two chairs, and Nasu motioned her to sit in one of them.

"Katara, I'm concerned about you."

Her head shot up. There was no way he really meant that?

"You have constantly been disappointing me, and your family."

No, of course he didn't.

"Do you not _realize_ that you are a part of royalty? Royalty has _duties_, we must act a certain way, and quite frankly, you have gone against each of these things."

She held back her urge to just shout at him right then and there, since of course, she had to respect her elders.

"First of all, you missed dinner."

"I'm sorry father."

It was as if he hadn't even heard her.

"Secondly, you burst into the Great Room, when no one told you to even come near it!"

"If that wasn't good enough for you, you had to lose any sense of respect and honor to your elders, and so you barged in with your opinion as if you were the utmost royalty. Do you _know_ how that made me look?"

Katara felt tears stinging her eyes again. Why was her father doing this to her? Did he have to be so mean? Nasu saw this, and decided that maybe he was being too stern after all. He took his voice down a notch.

"Katara… why do you have to be so much like your mother?"

She looked up and saw that there was a spark in his eyes. He stood up and wiped her tears away. She stood up as well; why was he trying to be nice all of a sudden?

"I'm sorry father… I'm a failure..."

"Don't talk about yourself like that. Yes, you have much to learn, but we all have to make mistakes before we can do that. Just do this one thing for me Katara. _Please_ do your best to be your best. You are a _princess_, you are not a peasant who doesn't have manners."

He looked at her with a hope shining in his eyes. Katara nodded her head, and he smiled.

"Good. Now run along to bed. A _princess_ needs her rest."

She left the study without another word, and when she entered the Great Room, she saw that everyone had left. Her father's words had not helped her in the least bit. Even when he had tried to be kind to her, he had an underlying evil truth. _'You are not a peasant who doesn't have any manners.' _ Did he really think that of her? He must have, because he kept on emphasizing the fact that she was a princess; but of course, she didn't act like one.

Her gaze swept around the room. She saw the waterfall slowly falling into the pool of water. The lush sound of it awakened her senses. For some reason, her eyes darted to the door where she had last seen Zuko. What had she done? She had saved his life, but in return she had turned into Yue. _'I suggest throwing him into the prisons.'_ That is what she had said, and she had said it without any concern for him at all. He couldn't have been much older than Sokka. He wasn't even really a man yet.

Her feet ran across the room, and she pushed open the doors. The view in front of her was unbelievable. She had never gone down to the prisons; she never had a reason to. Down the dark hall she went though, down the dirty stairs, clouded with dirt and old age. Finally after what seemed like forever, she saw two guards standing in front of an aged door.

"Princess, you must be going off to bed. It is late."

"I know, but I have to tell the prisoner something. A message from my father."

The guards nodded to each other. They had seen her speak out at the meeting, and so they believed her white lie. Katara winced as the door creaked open. Before she went in, they gave her a torch; lit by a blue flame once again. When the door closed behind her, she felt a sudden shiver crawl up her spine. She looked at herself, and realized the knot on her robe had loosened, and her nightgown was visible again. Quickly, she let the blush fade away, as she tied the knot securely into place. Each cell she passed was empty, until finally she reached the end of the hall. It was dark, and she couldn't quite make him out, but it was definitely him.

Her deep blue eyes were all he saw. The flames from the torch shone on them brightly, and his heart ached to see her, his savior yet not. Because of her, he was stuck in this cell, with all but no light to accompany him.

"Zuko?"

It was all she could manage to get out of her throat. She felt the tears well up inside of it. When she had said his name, he turned around on his other side, so that his back was facing her. This made her feel even worse. She let the tears fall freely and it felt like they burned on her cheeks. After a minute or so with no response, she wiped her cheeks. All she could get out was a soft whisper.

"_I'm sorry_."

Zuko sprung up from his bed to the cell's door, which only had a small window in it. Nothing, she was gone.

Katara sped down the hall, and opened the door forcefully. She didn't even notice the creaking this time. The guards took her torch, and she left them without another word. All the way to her room, her thoughts buzzed in her head without rest. Could he have been telling the truth? Why did his eyes always pop into her head when she didn't want them too? Why was she thinking about him at all?

Her life that morning had been so carefree. All she thought about was getting away from palace life, and living freely with the water as her guide. Now, all she thought about was the person who really couldn't get away from the palace. He was stuck in the very heart of it, with no way out. And it was all her fault.

When she got to her room, she had realized that her doors had been fixed. At least that was off of her mind. She slipped off her robe, and lazily threw it onto a chair. Katara slipped into her warm bed, and let herself be free of all worries and thoughts.

Except those fierce, yet soft golden eyes which haunted her dreams.

**A/N:** Yeah, sad chapter I know… no worries though! The next one won't be burdened with so much sadness lol Thanks for reading!

**NEXT:** Katara's spirit's are lifted with a pep talk from her mom, and she goes to see Zuko again! But someone just HAS to get in her way. One word people: Y-U-E.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Everywhere she looked, there it was. Fire; it was so commanding, so powerful, and unstoppable. Her body slithered away from the coldness, and towards the raging flames. All of it looked so remarkable though. The crimson bursts, and orange sparks. It was like a parade of warm splashes. She was drawn into them, her hands reached out in a desire to touch it. Suddenly, Katara was ripped away by a pair of hands. Her eyes scanned the site, as it grew fainter into the distance._

"_Mom… no, I want to stay!"_

"_Sorry, but fire is bad. It will hurt you."_

_It all seemed so distant now, the flames looked like small flicks of light. But somewhere from their depths, two golden eyes glowed._

"_No it won't… the fire won't hurt me… it's beautiful…"_

"_Katara, fire can never be beautiful!"_

_Unexpectedly, the flames roared and spread their light onto her face. Everything was in a dark red glow. The hisses of the furious fire shot to her ears. It was spreading, roaring towards her. Her mother just pulled her back more. Katara was still reaching out to it. She longed for it._

"_But I like fire… I like it…"_

_Her eyes widened in shock, as the fire finally touched her fingertips, and the hot pain seared through her body._

She woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding furiously, and she breathed in quick gasps. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and calmed herself down. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the morning sun shine into her room. Yawning, she pulled back the covers, and went to go shower. While the hot water ran down from her head to her toes, she thought about what her dream had meant. Why did she say that fire was beautiful? Was it because of that guy, Zuko? She shook her head, and let a cold stream of water burst out to wake her fully.

After she was done drying herself, she pulled on a blue kimono and tied up her hair. Half of it was up in a bun, the rest hanging down with random beads mingled into it. This time she wasn't going to be late for breakfast.

Katara headed out the door of her room, and walked down the hall towards the dining hall. After a few minutes of twists and turns in the palace, she reached her destination. Smiling to herself, she opened the doors. Her smile disappeared; no one was there. She was about to turn back, when a guard stopped her.

"Princess Katara does not wish to stay for breakfast?"

"What, you mean I'm the _first_ one here?"

"Yes, no one else has come yet."

The smile spread across her face again, and she took her seat at the table. After a few minutes, and no one there besides her, she made sure that the guards weren't looking. Her hands rotated in a small circular motion, as she bended her cup of water. Suddenly, she heard the door open, and the water quickly fell back into the cup. Again, her heart raced madly, but she calmed herself down. It was only her grandfather.

"Why Katara, it's so nice to see you here so early!"

"Good morning to you too, grandfather!"

Pakku smiled and sat down across the table from her. The guards had closed the door, so he decided it was safe.

"Katara," he whispered, "you and I need to train. It's been too long; you need constant practice. Meet me at our usual spot before the sun falls into the ocean."

She smiled widely and nodded.

"Okay, I'll make sure…"

Suddenly, the doors opened again.

"I'll make sure I do my duties."

Nasu walked in, and when he heard this, he smiled at them. Katara smiled back; good, she was getting on her father's good side. After Nasu, in came Shira and Gran-Gran. It felt good to know that Sokka and Yue were the last ones to come in for breakfast. Time passed by and she could tell that Nasu was getting impatient. Finally, they came in laughing.

"Sokka! Yue! Do you _know_ what time it is?"

They stopped dead in their tracks. Katara flashed them a wicked grin. Yue couldn't even begin to describe how much she had hated her sister. Sokka though, was just a bit disappointed that she had gotten there before them.

"We are sorry father."

"What is going on with you two? You are usually always on time! Today, Katara was the first one out of all of us to come here this morning! Unlike you two, she finally realizes the importance of royal duties!"

Yue was shocked completely. Katara? The first one there? It wasn't possible! It was simply barbaric, but she knew what to do. A small tear slid out of Yue's eyes.

"I'm… I'm so sorry father…"

She fake sobbed and immediately Nasu softened.

"Oh, it's okay Yue, it is your first time… just make sure it won't happen again?"

Yue looked up to her father with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry! It won't!"

So she and Sokka sat down, and the food was brought in. Occasionally Yue would send a cruel smirk towards Katara, but deciding it wasn't worth her time, Katara ignored it. Breakfast passed by somewhat peacefully, and everything seemed to be fine. Except for when a guard came in close to the end of breakfast, and he went up to Nasu and whispered something in his ear. It must have been urgent because he stood up.

"Family, I'm sorry to end this breakfast so soon, but I must be off. There is a certain matter I must attend to."

They all nodded and watched as the head of the family, and the leader of the tribe walked out of the room. Shira and Nasu gave each other a quick glance, but he shook his head slightly to signal that it wasn't anything to worry about. Katara on the other hand, thought it could be about one thing and one thing only, Zuko. Something must have happened surely, and now who knew what would be done to him. But she could be completely wrong; in any case, everyone at the table noticed her concerned demeanor. Yue loved this; the perfect opportunity had risen for her to get back at her little sister.

"Katara, why on earth do you look like someone just stabbed you?"

She shot her a death glare, and then looked away.

"Oh Katara,_ please_ tell us, we are your family, we can _help_ you."

Pakku saw the smirk on Yue's face and the bemused smile on Sokka's. He knew this wasn't going to turn out good.

"Is it… _oh dear_, is it about that man in your room last night?"

Everyone's eyes popped out and they turned towards Yue, even Sokka. Katara's heart leapt up to the ceiling because it started to pound so fast. How could she have possibly known? Obviously, the rest of her family was shocked because they hadn't even known, so how on earth could Yue have found out about it?

Shira immediately went to her daughter's side.

"Katara, what is she talking about? Are you okay?"

"A man? Who is he, and how did he manage to get inside your room?" Pakku asked with much concern on his face.

Katara motioned for everyone to calm down. Before she started to explain, she shot Yue another death glare. She didn't need for everyone in her family to think she had been attacked or worse.

"I was getting ready for bed, when this man, well no, a boy about Sokka's age, came into my room."

She heard a gasp from her mother and grandmother, while Pakku just gritted his teeth as he listened.

"He didn't do anything to me though. The guards came and took him away. He was sent to the prisons."

"Good. A trespasser like that deserves it. I'm glad you're okay. Come Kaana."

Pakku's words stung at her heart, as she watched her grandparents leave. Next Sokka stood up and helped Yue stand up as well. Before she turned to leave though, Yue gave Katara something to think about, because she could tell that in Yue's eyes, she wasn't telling her something, and Katara didn't know what it was. When they left, Katara was alone with her mother in the room. Shira took her daughter into her arms and cradled her.

"It must have been frightening."

"Yeah, I guess," Katara mumbled.

Shira stepped away from her daughter, and looked into her eyes. Her face carried a sad frown, and her mother knew something else was bothering her.

"Mom, it's just… _I'm_ the reason why he was sent to the prisons. I snuck into the Great Room."

Her mother couldn't believe it, but she let her daughter continue.

"And well… he's not even a man yet really! They could _hurt_ him!"

"Katara… I know you are a compassionate person. Don't worry; I will have a talk with your father. The prisoner won't be hurt."

She was going to stand up to leave when Katara spoke just one word.

"Zuko."

Shira turned around with a puzzling expression on her face.

"Zuko?"

"That's his name…" Katara replied quietly.

Shira smiled softly and knelt next her daughter once again.

"Katara… you are special, you are different than the rest of us. Just know that I'm proud of you. I know what you did was wrong, but who knows what could have happened to, um, _Zuko_, if it hadn't been for you. Don't carry unnecessary weight on your shoulders. I know you do everything that you do out of all the kindness in your heart."

Katara wrapped her arms around her mother again, and smiled.

"Thank you so much mom. You really know just what to say."

Shira watched as her now joyous daughter bounded out of the room. She wasn't quite sure, but from how her daughter had said it, this person was no ordinary prisoner.

..:-:..

Once she was back in her room, Katara looked at herself and beamed. She still looked as perfect as she did before breakfast, despite Yue's taunts and warning stares. Her mother's words had encouraged her yet again. Katara felt so much better; maybe it really wasn't her fault if Zuko was in the prisons. She would go visit him again, and get her to talk him. Yes, that is what she would do. One more look in the mirror, and she could have sworn she looked like her mother, like a queen. Zuko would surely like that. Wait, what was she thinking? Why did she want to look good for him? She didn't even know if his name really was Zuko! Oh well then, maybe she just wanted to look good. That was it, just for herself and no one else. Right.

The halls of the palace seemed so much livelier. People were waving to each other, and talking merrily. To see this made her feel such welcome, to know she lived in a place where everyone was so kind to one another.

..:-:..

Yue couldn't resist it any longer. She just had to go see him. When she was finally able to get rid of Sokka, she slid away through a door without telling him anything. The rest of this would be accomplished without much difficulty. Yue found the secret door, and passed through it. Through a tunnel it seemed like, and then around the corner she walked, until she finally met her destination. It was the same old, dark, and dirty staircase that Katara had gone down the day before. When she reached the guards, she breathed in, and smiled coyly.

"Why hello!"

"Hello Princess Yue," they said with smiles on their faces.

"Could you_ please_ let me in? I just want a few words with someone."

"Oh sure thing Princess! No problem!"

"Here, take this! It will be your light!"

She took the lantern and batted her eyelashes.

"Oh, why thank you! You're _so_ kind!"

Yue stepped through the creaky door, and when they shut it behind her, she rolled her eyes.

"Losers."

Slowly she made her way down the dark hall towards the last cell. Along the way she batted away the spider webs and the spiders that crawled there. She almost dropped the lantern because of it. This had better been worth it. Finally she was at the last cell. Her eyes shined through the window. Zuko saw them, and immediately thought it was Katara. They both had blue eyes of course. He ran up to the cell door but his smile vanished.

Yue saw a faint form of a face, and two golden eyes run across her face. She smiled; it had been worth every second.

"So you're the prisoner huh?"

Great, it wasn't the girl he had met before. This one had white hair, and she seemed sort of conceited. The first thing she thought of him was that he was a prisoner. She didn't even know his name. Zuko crawled back to his bed, and sat there looking at the small window where she still stood.

"That's a stupid question to ask."

Yue's heart died on the spot. His voice was so strong; he must be strong then too. For a second, it seemed as if she hadn't heard a single word he said. Now, she realized what his beautiful voice had told her. She scowled.

"Jeez, I'm just making conversation. So what's your name?"

Zuko laughed. Again, Yue got angry and scowled.

"Zuko."

"Okay Zuko. Tell me. Weren't you ever so disappointed you didn't stumble into _my _room?"

Zuko couldn't believe the nerve of this girl. He pondered on how he would respond. Yue stood there waiting for an answer, but was given none. That was it. She couldn't take him anymore. Did he not know she was royalty? A princess?

"Don't tell me you would have rather been in my sister's room! She's not even full royalty! I'm a fully blooded princess! You can't be serious!… ANSWER ME!"

"Boy, you are demanding."

Yue huffed in agitation. Then a thought got into her head. She didn't act like that to the guards. She softened her voice.

"Zuko, if you _ever_ need anything, just ask for Princess Yue. I'll tell the guards so they know it's all right. I'll see you soon."

She finally left him there, and he practically gagged at the thought. There was no way that girl was even related to the other one. Even though she had put him in here, the girl he met first seemed so different somehow.

Yue was just about to open the door, when it opened itself.

"Oh my! Katara! What on earth are you doing here?"

Katara sneered at her sister.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh me? Why, I was just visiting Zuko is all."

Katara's eyes grew wide and her heart ached a bit.

"You know his name?"

"Oh yeah. We just had this really long conversation. He's really something you know! I would even think that I could pull some strings with dad. You know, let him out for a walk with me."

Katara didn't let her emotions show on her face, but inside to hear those words, was like having an arrow aimed right at her heart. She didn't want to feel like that. Then why was she even bothering to be here?

"That's nice. Can I have the lantern now?"

Yue seemed somewhat shocked at her words. Katara didn't seem the least bit sad. Her actions weren't causing any pain for her, and that wasn't how Yue liked it.

"Here. Have fun."

Yue smirked as she handed her the lantern. Her eyes saw the last bit of white hair go through the door, and she sighed with relief. Katara faced the hall, and she saw the cell at the end of it, and it loomed over her like a distant possible nightmare. The night before he hadn't even spoken a single word to her. Now Yue informed her that she and Zuko had a wonderful chat. Katara sighed and stepped forward. The light seemed to guide her towards that last cell.

When Zuko saw that pair of sapphire eyes, he rolled his own, and breathed angrily.

"Go away!"

Katara wasn't expecting this kind of welcome. Her feelings had been shot down, and they stung at her heart.

"Fine, if you hate me so much I will!"

Zuko's eyes widened. It hadn't been Yue; this voice was so much gentler, even though she was talking in an angry tone. He rose as quickly as he could and reached out of the small window. Katara was going to turn away, when she felt something grab at her hair.

"Ow!"

She quickly spun around to see Zuko's eyes staring at her. Those pure golden eyes made her heart melt, but then she remembered what he said.

"What did you do that for? You want me to go away, and now you pull my hair?"

"I'm sorry. Please don't go."

Her insides weakened, and her mind was lost. His voice was like fire, and she wanted to be near it.

"Okay."

She smiled warmly, and although she couldn't see it, so did he. Moments passed by in silence. The two teenagers didn't care though; being in each other's presence was good enough for them. Finally Katara spoke, but she didn't know how she managed to.

"I'm sorry for putting you in here. It's all my fault."

"No, it's okay."

"Come on Zuko, you know it's all my fault."

"Well fine, it's not _entirely_ your fault."

The two teenagers laughed for a second or two, and then when they stopped there was an awkward silence. It was a good thing it was dark, because Katara was blushing madly.

"What's your name?"

His voice sent chills up her spine again, but she bit her lip. Should she trust him?

"First tell me something. Is your name really Zuko?"

"Yes, it is."

For some reason, Katara could tell he wasn't lying. It was his eyes that told her he was being honest.

"Katara. My name is Katara."

Zuko smiled, and she could tell it in his voice.

"_Katara_… that's a nice name…"

Nice? Was that all? Yesterday he had just come out saying she was damn hot. Now her name was just _nice_?

"By the way, thank you."

This entirely shocked her.

"Why?"

"Because you saved my life."

"Oh, but you're still stuck in there."

"Yeah, but it's not too bad."

"It's completely dark and you are alone! How is that not too bad?"

They were as close as they could get to each other. He was still standing right up to the window, and she was doing the same on the other side. She could feel his warm breath on her face, and she was reminded of her dream. His golden eyes bore into her very soul. It almost felt like a dream, but she desperately didn't want it to be.

"Well, you're here, and you're eyes give off blue light."

For some reason, she would have just killed to be right next to him, without that stupid door in between them. His words were like magic. Then she laughed. This caused Zuko to smile, and the same thoughts crossed his mind. If only there was a way to get out of the cell, but then if he did, she wouldn't be able to stop his execution.

"What's so funny?"

"You say my eyes give off a blue light? You're silly. Look."

She held up the blue-lit lantern and he joined in with a chuckle.

"Oh, I guess you're right. But still, you have blue eyes."

She smiled and they stood there in silence again. It was broken however because they heard the loud creak from the door that seemed oh so far away.

"Princess Katara! You must be coming back now! It's almost time for lunch!"

"Okay, I'll be right there!"

They heard her voice echo down the hall, but even though her voice was still heard, she could hear Zuko's stomach growl. Now she just felt guilty. She had a big breakfast, and she was going to go eat a big lunch. Zuko had had near to nothing. She leaned in close to the window, even though she had no need for it. Zuko could hear her perfectly.

"I'll try to sneak you some food next time."

Zuko chuckled slightly, embarrassed that his body was so weak that he already needed food.

"Thanks."

She quickly fled towards the two guards, and up the staircase. Zuko heard the creaky door slam shut, and with that he winced. His cell was dark again, and there was no light. He sighed. If only he hadn't been so stupid, maybe then he could have had a chance to get to know her. Really get to know her. Instead he was stuck in this cell, just sitting there, hoping the time would fly by, and he would see her again.

* * *

**A/N:** Smiles … how was this chapter? Did you like it? I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next… Sunday perhaps? Thanks for reading! Please review! I want to know what you think! It helps me tons! 

-Monika-


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I'm so sorry I couldn't get this done and up for you sooner! My dad sorta grounded me cuz I spent too much time on the computer! How unreasonable is that? Lol Well… this chapter turned out to be a very very long one, so I'll leave you to it!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Lunch had gone well, surprisingly well actually. There was such a difference though in her father. Nasu had seemed so happy and normal. Even Yue seemed to be a bit nicer to Katara. Occasionally, Pakku had given Katara some glances. She was so excited; she would actually be able to have some fun for a change. First though, before she could go do that, she remembered her promise. Cleverly, she took some food with her, and made her way down to the prisons like before. This time, the guards didn't seem to care, and they just let Katara through without even bothering to say she couldn't.

"Zuko?"

His eyes shined when he heard her voice. She saw his gold eyes again, and smiled. She handed him the food through the little window, and he took it hungrily.

"Thank you Katara."

"No problem. Listen, I'm still really sorry that you're stuck in here. I'll try to see what I can do. Maybe my father will listen to reason and let you out for a while."

Zuko chuckled in between bites. The food wasn't half bad.

"That would be a miracle. So far, the guards haven't even come to look in on me."

"Well, I'll try my best. I promise."

He smiled at her, even though se couldn't see it, she felt it.

"I have to go Zuko."

"Come back soon?"

Katara smiled with joy.

"I sure will."

She hurried down the hall again, and ran up the stairs. Time for training.

..:-:..

"So remember, every time you feel the rage of the water, use it, and no one will be able to defeat you."

"Okay," she breathed in deeply, "how's this?"

Katara whipped her hands around in a circular motion and then surged her arms back, and then forwards toward her grandfather. The ground beneath them shook as Katara's bending turned it in a massive wave that turned in circles. Pakku held out his hands, and spun it away into the air. He smirked, and so did Katara.

"Very good. Katara, you have come such a long way, I'm happy to see the magnificent progress that you've made."

She walked up to him and smiled as the sun began to set in the horizon.

They were in one of the back yards of the palace, training. It was a secret room for them, only Katara and Pakku knew of it. Otherwise, someone was bound to see them training, and Katara would get the worst punishment of all.

"Grandfather, it means so much to me that you are willing to risk punishment if we are ever found out about."

The old man ginned and chuckled.

"Katara, by now, it really doesn't matter what they do to me. Remember, I'm a master water bender. I could take them all out with a twist of my fingers."

They both laughed, but then Katara became sullen. Pakku noticed the change.

"What's wrong dear?"

"Well, it's just… I don't think that Zuko should be kept in the prisons all the time! It's not humane!"

"Zuko? Who on earth is that?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you the prisoners name?"

Pakku shot a hot look at his granddaughter.

"Katara, after what he did, he only deserves it."

"But grandfather! How would you like it, if let's say, I was caught in the fire nation. What would they do to me?"

Pakku curled his fists angrily.

"They wouldn't give you a second glance. You would be dead."

"See! If you don't want that to happen to me, why should we be any different to Zuko? He hasn't even _done_ anything!"

Pakku's look softened and he realized that Katara was right.

"I believe young granddaughter, that you have a point. "

She smiled brightly, but then she frowned again.

"Well, it doesn't matter if we think it's wrong, because Father won't have it any other way."

Pakku took Katara by the hand, and led her to the waterfall that was flowing near their training site. He pointed towards it and she looked, concentrating on its beauty.

"Do you see that? It's a waterfall. It keeps flowing and flowing, always in the same direction. No one thing ever happens to change that direction. But look. "

Katara gazed and somewhat jumped when she saw a fish escape the pattern of where it was flowing. She watched as it jumped into the air, and into the pool of water near by.

"See? The fish decided to do something. It didn't want to go in that direction, so it jumped up as much as it could, and it succeeded in its goal. The never changing flow was changed after all. You too can do that if you try hard enough. You can change the way things are. Go talk to your father, and I'm sure he will jump out of the waterfall, and into the a new pool of water just like the fish did."

She bowed to her grandfather, and thanked him for the training. He did the same, and watched as his granddaughter, so full of hope and promise, ran away to go have a talk with her father.

..:-:..

Yue closed the door behind her slowly, and stepped up towards the tall man.

"Father, I've come to ask of you a favor."

Nasu cocked his brows and put his fingers together. He smiled.

"What do you wish to ask of me Yue?"

She tried her best to look strong and mature; something that was needed to win her fathers consent.

"I know of the prisoner in our possession. I was thinking, maybe it was possible that I take him out for a walk. Of course, there would be guards, but hear me out father. I think that I could get information out of him for us. I heard you didn't get much during the meeting."

His daughters approach seemed reasonable. And he had wanted to find a way to get the information he needed all along anyway. Nasu smiled.

"I agree. Why don't you go take a crack at it right now?"

Yue flashed him a winning smile.

"I won't disappoint you father."

..:-:..

Katara breathed in deeply, and stepped inside. He was sitting behind his desk, just like last time.

"Father, I have a favor to ask of you."

Nasu looked amused. This sounded familiar. Katara only held her breath, and hoped that what her grandfather had said would hold true.

"Yes Katara. What is it?"

"Father, now I know you must think that by bringing this up again, I am going against my duties, but I believe I'm not. It's about the prisoner."

Nasu didn't look surprised. He listened without saying a word, only nodding.

"I've been down to the prisons, and I was shocked to see that there was no light down there!"

"Well, if we had windows, there would be a chance for the prisoners to escape."

"Yes, but think of how awful it must feel to be down there, day after day, no light, no one to talk to. My duties are to do what's right and help any person that needs help, like a good princess would, correct?"

Her approach shocked Nasu. She was indeed right. How clever to tie in her question or favor she called it, into her duties. She had won him over.

"So, to go along with my duties, I see it only is right if I can maybe have a walk with the prisoner each day. Guards would come with us of course, so that he couldn't escape. I just think that he needs some light and fresh air, and maybe he could help us in the end."

They sat there in silence, Nasu only did this so he could tease his daughter, make her wait for his approval every second that he could hold it in. Finally he stood up.

"I'm proud of you Katara. I will grant you this because I feel you are right. It is your duty to help others, and I'm glad you finally realize that."

..:-:..

Yue slid down the steps and followed the path she had previously gone down. When she came to Zuko's cell, she didn't say anything, but he had seen her eyes, and thought it was Katara.

"Wow, that was fast. I didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"Oh Zuko, don't flatter me! _Of course_ I would come back as soon as I could! I told you I would!"

Zuko sat down grumpily on his bed. He really wished he had some sort of way to know whether or not it was Yue or Katara he was speaking with.

"Oh, it's only you."

Yue's smile vanished at his careless tone.

"What's_ that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Thought you were someone else."

She let the remark slide and then she perked up again.

"Well Zuko, you will be very pleased to know it's _me_ because I have done what I promised I would do. My father is allowing you to take a walk with me outside."

Zuko looked up and sighed. He really did want to go outside, even if it was with her. Slowly, he stood up and made his way to the door. He winced as the door creaked open. Yue really wasn't that visible in the light, and neither was Zuko. They made their way down the hall in silence. Finally when they reached the staircase, the two guards closed the door and flowed them.

Outside, the sun would be setting soon. Perfect for Yue, she would have just enough time before dinner to have the walk. When Zuko got out into the sunlight, he winced and covered his eyes. Never in his life did he think he would hate the sun, but at that moment, it felt like his eyes were burning with torture. It took a few minutes for them to adjust, but when he finally got settled, he stepped back as he saw Yue smiling at him.

In the light, she was actually quite attractive looking. Her white hair was groomed to perfection, and her skin was slightly dark. Of course her eyes reminded him of Katara, but at that moment her beauty astounded him. A princess had to be beautiful right? And as Zuko looked her over, Yue got the feeling of what he was thinking. She too now saw him in a different light, and although he had that hideous scar, he looked decent enough. So Yue smiled coyly, and got closer to him.

"So Zuko, what are you thinking? Wait, _I know_, you just can't believe how beautiful I am! That's it, _isn't it_?"

Immediately her beauty disappeared, as Zuko was reminded how hideous she was on the inside. For a girl, she really was bigheaded.

"You read my mind!" Zuko replied sarcastically.

Yue shot him a mean glance, but let it slide again. She would have to let each of his remarks slide otherwise, she would never accomplish what she had in mind. They kept on walking around the front of the palace, and Zuko would usually just stop and stare out at the ocean. It was so beautiful, how the sun created so much intensity in the sky. Yue began talking, but realized he was a few feet behind her.

"Zuko! Do you know your manners? It's rude to just stand there when someone is talking to you!"

He turned around and sighed.

"Oh sorry your highness. Must have slipped my mind!"

She turned back around and waited for him to catch up to her.

"You know, being royalty has its perks. For one, I get anything I ask for."

"So you can ask if they can shut you up for me?"

Yue couldn't hold it in anymore, she was flaming furious.

"I can't believe you! I thought you would be grateful for the time of day I'm giving you! And here you are, telling me to _be quiet_?"

She was all up in his face, and Zuko finally decided that he was in fact being too harsh.

"I'm sorry Princess Yue," he bowed, "I am honored to have you as my escort and for arranging this lovely walk."

Yue smiled and returned the bow.

"You are very welcome, and _thank you_."

The gong resounded throughout the palace, and it was heard outside as well. Dinner would be starting soon. The walk was over. Suddenly, the guards grabbed Zuko, and started to walk back towards his cell. Yue sighed; she hadn't had enough time, but no worries. Tomorrow was always another day.

She hurried towards the dining room and smiled greatly as she saw the rest of her family walking in. Katara saw Yue actually running to dinner, which was quite shocking because Yue never ran if it wasn't an emergency. This intrigued Katara a lot, but during dinner all she could think about was getting Zuko out of that dark cell, and into the light of the night. She had been too late in asking her father, so she had to wait until after dinner to go.

"Father, may I be excused?"

Nasu sipped his cup of tea, and nodded. Time for a walk.

..:-:..

"Zuko! Zuko! Guess what?"

He opened his eyes, and thought he had dreamt her voice, but no, it really was Katara's eyes staring at him. Her eyes smiled at him.

"Katara, what is it?"

"I really can't believe it, but my father agreed to let you out! You can take a walk with me! Isn't that great?"

Zuko chuckled. Hearing this, she thought he was laughing at the fact that it was with her.

"Well I'm sorry you think a walk with me is so funny! Maybe I should just leave you in here!"

He stopped laughing, and turned dead serious.

"No! Don't go! I'm only laughing because just an hour ago, Yue came here and told me the same exact thing."

Katara's mouth dropped and her eyes popped out wide, her heart beginning to sink.

"So you went on a walk with Yue?"

By now the two of them were outside, the moon high in the sky, and shining down on them. It illuminated Katara's face, and her hair shined brightly. Her eyes sparkled and Zuko thought she was breathtaking.

"Yeah, I did."

There was a pause in which Katara looked at the ground sadly. Maybe what Yue said was right. She wasn't lying; they were becoming great friends, or maybe even more.

"But she almost ripped my head off because I was," he became stern, "being rude_ to her highness_."

Katara looked up into his eyes, and they both laughed. He was just like she saw him in her room. Tall, and fierce looking, but she could tell he was somewhat soft inside, even though he didn't make it out to be like that. For some reason she just thought about why she was doing this really. It wasn't at all about duties; that was a lie to her father. She just wanted to be with him. Did that mean she had feelings for him? Even though she didn't even know him?

"The moon is so powerful in the sky."

Katara shook her head to distract her from her thoughts when Zuko said this.

"The sun is just as powerful."

He looked at her with admiration. She knew what she was talking about.

"Every day it's like a cycle. They take turns, showing us humans that not one single thing has power over another. There's always a balance."

Zuko looked at her with even more admiration than before. She was so different than Yue, and he was glad that it was so. He was about to take her hand, when in the distance he saw the two guards lurking and watching them. Katara however, was thinking the same thing, but she didn't care about the guards. Besides, if she were the one to do it, then it would be considered fine. So she put her hand in his, and began to drag him along a bridge.

"Katara, where are we going?"

"Shh… let's lose those two guards!"

He shook his head violently.

"They will kill me if it looks like I'm trying to escape!"

Her sapphire eyes shimmered at him and she smiled heavenly.

"Trust me Zuko. Nothing will happen to you. It will be their fault they didn't keep an eye on us! Quickly, in here!"

They turned a corner, and stood closely to each other, trying to hold their breaths. The guards ran by, and it seemed as if they had no clue that Katara and Zuko were in the tunnel to their right. Zuko sighed and smiled at Katara. Their hands let go of each other, and then they started to move out again across the same bridge. Soon, they were in front of the palace. No one was guarding it strangely. Most likely some kind of meeting was going on, but it didn't matter because Zuko was with her, not inside the cell where who knew what could happen to him. They sat down near a pond of water.

"Katara?"

She looked up at him expectantly.

"Yes Zuko?"

"How on earth are you even related to that sister of yours?"

Katara laughed, and Zuko just smiled at the sound of it. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, but knowing could happen, he kept his distance.

"Well she's not my sister, she's my half sister. Her mother died right after her birth. My mom married Nasu soon afterwards. My father can be so cruel towards me. As if he blames me for something, but I don't know what."

"Oh…"

He fell silent and gazed across the pond. Something was wrong, she knew it, but she didn't know what it was. Katara stood up and sat right next to him, and put a hand on his arm. Zuko turned his head and looked into those innocent eyes of hers. She was smiling sweetly, and Zuko just couldn't take it anymore.

"Zuko… what is it? You can tell me…"

He stood up abruptly, and so she followed suit. Zuko looked away angrily. It couldn't have been something she said.

"Zuko…"

"Katara, I don't deserve this."

"Don't deserve what? Can you please just tell me what's wrong?"

She seemed slightly agitated, but he turned around to face her, and he seemed like he was going to explode any minute.

"You shouldn't be treating me like I'm the one that's been wronged! You shouldn't think of me as a good person! I don't deserve your kindness!"

Katara's eyes widened. This new change in attitude somewhat frightened her.

"What do you mean?"

He turned his head away, and closed his eyes. His tone softened and was full of guilt.

"I lied Katara. I'm not from the Earth Kingdom. I'm a fire bender from the Fire Nation."

She took a few steps back and in horror she gasped. He was a fire bender. He could attack her right then, and flee. Katara would have helped the prisoner escape. But just as she was going to say something, he looked up at her, his golden eyes bearing into her soul. Suddenly, she had that image of the raging fire, and those eyes staring out from it at her. _'The fire is beautiful mommy! I like the fire!'_ Quickly, she shook her head and sighed. He hadn't done anything to hurt her. Surely he would have killed her the moment he stepped into her room if he had wanted to. She bit her lip; maybe she should give him a chance to explain. After all, he was gorgeous when he looked so guilty. Wait, what was she saying? He was a fire bender for crying out loud! She couldn't like him now that she knew who he really was! Fire nation and water tribe just did not mix.

"Did you lie about your name? And your parents too?"

She really hoped he hadn't. She wanted to believe him, put all her trust into him. Zuko was shocked. Shouldn't she have screamed her lungs off like the last time? Maybe he was lucky today.

"Katara, I'm so sorry I lied to you. But you have to understand my position. I couldn't just barge out in that big room and say that I was a fire bender from the fire nation. I would have been killed on the spot."

His words sunk into her, and she nodded realizing that he was completely right.

"But I didn't lie about my name. My name is Zuko; I would never lie about my name. But…"

"But what?"

"I did lie about my parents. My father is alive. He's…"

Katara just prepared herself.

"He's who?"

"He's the fire lord's brother."

"WHAT?"

"Shhh!"

Katara and Zuko looked around to make sure no one had heard them. After a minute her shock subsided and she found her voice.

"So… you're technically like royalty too? You are the fire lord's nephew?"

Zuko chuckled and smiled.

"More like half royalty. My cousin Zula is, I guess a lot like Yue, but ten times worse."

She almost chocked on the air she was breathing when he said that.

"Me too! I always feel like I'm half royalty! But I don't see how Zula could be ten times worse than Yue!"

Zuko closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes, and she looked at them, it was like he was opening a memory for her. His voice was only quiet whispers, but it shook her core.

"Zula, my cousin, is the worst person alive, after my uncle. You see this scar?"

She slowly reached out towards the scar around his left eyes, but withdrew quickly as if the skin burned her.

"One day I decided I would take her doll and put it back in her room. When she found it in her bed, she began to fight me. She hated me, just because I took her doll and put it back in its rightful place. Suddenly she pinned me to the ground, and put her hand to my eye."

Katara gasped and he nodded sullenly.

"No, it wasn't her. But when she did that, I sent up a flame, and lucky for me, it caught onto her doll. She was furious, and ran to her father, the fire lord. I was to be sent to him immediately. There she was with him, and when I entered, all he did was come to me, and put his hand on my eye. My uncle did this to me, and then he said I was banished."

She just couldn't believe it. Katara stood there stunned and motionless. Her eyes were full of pity, but he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Katara, you don't have to pity me. Since then, I've left the fire nation, and began meeting all kinds of new people. Then I thought, well maybe I should meet some water benders. So I came up here. That morning I saw you, and I knew I had to meet you."

She smiled and he smiled back. For some reason, it just came out of her mouth.

"Well, you did get to meet a water bender!"

"Really? Who?"

"Me! … oh no! I shouldn't have said anything!"

"Why? It's great to know that you're a water bender."

She grabbed him by his collar and put her finger to her mouth.

"Shhh! You want me to be in the prison cell with you?"

"Well actually…"

He smirked but it vanished as she gave him a stern look.

"Zuko! Here, it is forbidden for a girl to learn how to water bend! My grandfather teaches me secretly!"

"Oh… I didn't know that."

"Well now you do!"

She saw someone in the distance, so she took Zuko by the hand again, and dragged him inside of the palace.

"Where are we going now?"

"Just follow me!"

They turned here and there, and finally they were inside of her room. She closed the doors and locked them. Zuko looked around and chuckled. He had only been here a few days ago, but it was what he said that made him laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing… just reminded myself of my opening line."

Her mind traveled back to when she first saw him. She smiled.

"Yeah, that did startle me, I must admit. No one's ever called me 'hot' before."

He grinned, but when he turned around, he saw that she wasn't wearing her parka anymore. Instead she was wearing a beautiful light blue kimono. His grin turned into a soft smile. Zuko watched as she walked around her room searching for something. When she finally found the right closet, she took it out and smiled broadly.

"This Zuko is for you!"

He took the blue feathery parka and looked at her questionably.

"For me?"

"Of course! You must be freezing down in that cell! Come on! Try it on!"

She took the parka from him, and tried to lift it up over his head, but she was too short. He grabbed the ends, and with her help he pulled it on over his head. Katara stepped up to him, and took off his hood.

"There. You look just like a natural!"

Her smile spread across her face, but then the two of them realized how close they were to one another. His eyes bore into her soul again, and she was reminded of her words again. _'Fire is beautiful.'_ Both of their eyes slowly began to close, and their heads leaned towards each other, but right then there was a thundering noise from the hall. Each had a bright pink hue on their cheeks, as they quickly separated from each other.

"The prisoner is nowhere to be found! He was last seen with Princess Katara!"

Her eyes widened.

"We've been gone too long! I have to get you back!"

"But the guards! They will kill me!"

"Not if I have anything to do with it! Come on!"

She grabbed his hand but he didn't budge.

"I can't go out there!"

"We aren't!"

He looked at her with confusion.

"Just watch."

She smiled wickedly and opened up the glass doors. He smiled as well, how could he have not thought of it? It was the same way he got in. Zuko ran up to her, and they stepped outside. Katara turned to her right and gazed up at the moon. Please give me strength. Her hands turned like clockwork, and the wall of ice melted. They stepped into a dark corridor and quickly ran to its end. There, she did another motion with her arms and to their luck; it was the staircase leading to the prison cells. In no time Zuko was back in his cage, wrapped up warmly in his new parka.

"Katara, I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry Zuko. I'll make sure to tell them you were here the entire time."

She smiled and was about to turn to go, when a hand grabbed her hair again. Katara turned and gave Zuko a look.

"Yes?"

"You won't tell anyone about my secret, will you?"

She looked at Zuko through the window and smiled.

"Only if you don't tell anyone about mine."

"Deal. Oh and Katara, next time you come, could you say 'Fish in the hole' to me?"

She laughed when she heard this.

"Why?"

"So I know it's not Yue. The two of you have the same eyes, and I always get my hopes up, only to find out it's not you."

Her cheeks flushed, as she listened to his soft voice. Her heart thudded madly.

"Okay. I will. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

He sat down in the pitch black and closed his eyes as he listened to her footsteps disappearing into the silence. The creaky door shut close and he was all alone again. In his eyes, all he could see was her face, her smile, and those unbelievably striking blue eyes. For some reason, he felt that she was his only reason to live on in the cell. For some reason, he just couldn't stop thinking about her, and whenever he did, his heart beat loudly in his ears. Zuko smiled, and soon drifted off to sleep.

..:-:..

"Father! What is all this commotion about?"

Guards were running everywhere, and Katara had just come back into her room, putting up all the walls she had torn down. Just as she was about to walk out of her room, the doors opened, and there stood her father. She had gotten back right in time.

"I would like to ask you the same question! Where is the prisoner?"

He looked so serious, that it almost scared her. But Katara kept her cool.

"What on earth do you mean? Last time I saw him, he was back in his cell!"

"The guards told me you went on a walk with him, and that the two of you disappeared!"

"Oh yes, we did go on a walk. But it was short. He said he wanted to go back to his cell. So I took him back and locked him in."

Nasu raised an eyebrow questioning what his daughter was telling him.

"I think it went quite successfully. He seems like a nice person. I believe in time he will be able to help us father…"

She was cut off by his hand. A guard had come to them and bowed. Nasu turned towards him anxiously.

"Any news of the prisoner?"

"Yes Chief, a couple of us went back to the cell and found him sleeping in it."

"Thank you. Tell the others to cease their search."

Nasu turned to Katara and beamed down at her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled proudly.

"Katara, I am very proud of you. You have done your duty, and I want you know to walk around with the young man every day. The more accustomed to our culture he gets, the better."

"Father? I hope you don't mind, but I gave him a parka. I thought he would freeze to his death down there! Is it all right?"

"Katara, I think that was an excellent idea of you to do that. Once again, you have shown how much a person can mature in such little time. Good night."

"Good night!"

She called after him and watched him leave her room. She closed the doors and fell down onto her bed with a feeling of such warmth, that it wasn't describable. Her life had taken a complete turn around and she finally felt like she meant something- to everyone.

* * *

**A/N:** Wowzerz… O.O lol I spent like the whole day on this! I hope it turned out nicely! What do you think? The next chapter will be a good one I hope! Until then! Cyaz! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Katara opened her eyes and found herself gasping for breath once again. The fire had spread like the night before, only this time, she actually went into the fire, only to be pulled back once more. But she was getting closer to it.

Then she realized, what her father had told her to do, and she was happy she was going to do it. Katara got herself ready and put her hair all up in a small bun, with the rest hanging down in a braid. It was traditional, but she liked it. Admiring herself, she set for the usual morning drill: breakfast with the family.

..:-:..

"So, how is everything going? I heard there was a meeting yesterday?"

Shira looked up at Nasu from across the table and he smiled.

"Yes actually, and its result was a good one."

Shira sighed sadly. She was prepared to here it.

"We have finally arranged with whom Katara will marry!"

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Then she put on her best smile.

"Nasu, I still don't understand why you want Katara to marry first. Yue should have been married long ago."

"Yes, she should have, but since she is going to inherit the throne, I want to find only the best man possible to sit beside her as the tribe's new king. Since Katara is now going to turn sixteen, then I don't see why she just can't marry now. He's a good suitor for our daughter; I picked him with her best interests at heart. Oh…"

Katara came into the room and smiled at her parents. They smiled back again and as she sat down, they exchanged glances saying that their discussion was over. Soon the rest of the family followed. Pakku was the last one in this time. Sokka just dived into his meal without greeting his father or anyone else for that matter. Breakfast went quite well, just like before. This was starting to become a bit weird for Katara. She usually didn't have such good luck, but why argue with it?

Breakfast was over, and Sokka pulled Yue aside.

"Yue, where have you been these past few days? You've missed out on all the fun! I got to see these two kids fight each other yesterday because I took their food! It was hilarious!"

She smiled and laughed even. But she didn't answer his question.

"Sokka I have to go. Meet me later at our room. I'm planning something!"

This last statement made Sokka's lip curl. The day had come and he didn't care what his sister did, as long as she met up with him later so that they could carry out the plan.

..:-:..

"Rise and shine sleepyhead! Time for another walk!"

Zuko jerked his head up to see those blue eyes, but he knew it wasn't Katara. Not only had it not been her voice, but she hadn't said the secret phrase. He closed his eyes again, and tried desperately to go back to his dream. Zuko was with her, and she had encased him in a pool of tranquility. It felt so nice.

"Come on! I don't have all day!"

Zuko growled. Did this being have to bother him? Was she really that bent on ruining his morning, his life? Slowly Zuko stood and Yue opened the door. When they were out in the sun again, this time Zuko didn't flinch. But Yue did. He looked… so much more suitable to her eyes… maybe because of that parka… wait, where did he get that parka from?

"Where did you get that?" she asked demandingly.

Zuko just smiled.

"Katara gave it to me."

"What?"

"I said Katara-"

"I know what you said! I can't believe her!"

"It was a nice gesture. I slept warmly last night because of it."

Yue glanced up at him. He looked a lot like a water bender now. But he was still hideous with that scar. This was going to go nowhere and she knew it. What was the use?

"Well… yes it was… but it was out of pity Zuko! Didn't you know?"

He looked at her angrily.

"What do you mean?" he asked out of gritted teeth.

"Zuko, Zuko, Zuko! Katara only gave that to you because she has this soft part in her little old heart that makes her do things for people. _You_ aren't special to her, she just pities you like she would anyone else."

"Hey Yue?"

"Yes?"

"Looks like you should borrow some of that _'soft part'_ from Katara. You need it."

She stamped her foot on the ground and clenched her fists. Yue snarled at him and the guards came right away.

"Princess Yue? What is wrong?"

"I'm fed up with him! I can't take it anymore! Take him to his cell!"

Zuko chuckled. That was fast.

Yue watched again as the prisoner was sent away. An evil idea came into her head.

..:-:..

"Sokka! Get up! We've got work to do!"

He jumped off of his bed and looked at his sister eagerly.

"So Yue, what is your plan this time?"

"Can you write something for me?"

He looked at his sister with aggravation.

"What? Is that all you want me to do? Just write something down? How boring is that?"

She leaned into his ear and whispered something. An evil smile curled on his lips. Yue passed him a piece of parchment and ink, along with a feather. Sokka did his best, and when he finished, he gave it to his sister for approval. An exact replica of the smirk on his face was planted on hers and she rolled up the piece parchment.

"Sokka, you are excellently wicked."

"No no, don't thank me. It was your genius idea! You deserve all the credit!"

Yue bowed flamboyantly and flashed her eyelashes at him.

"Why thank you, if I do say so myself!"

"What are you waiting for Yue? Go!"

She smiled and vanished through the doors.

..:-:..

"Princess Yue? What are you doing here again? So soon? I thought…"

She shushed the guard and gave him the parchment.

"Take this to Princess Katara and tell her it's from Zuko. No questions about it!"

That last part was added in, as the guard was about to open his mouth and ask a question. He nodded and followed Yue out of the staircase. Once they were out, she bowed and watched as the guard headed off towards Katara's room. Too bad she wasn't going to see her reaction.

..:-:..

Katara got back to her room and looked over herself just to make sure that she looked all right. She wanted to look good for him. But no, she had to stop thinking this! He was fire nation royalty! Fire Nation. She couldn't have feelings for the enemy. Was that what he was? But he was banished! Katara growled at herself. Why did her mind do this to her? Why on earth did she have to think so much?

Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

"Yes?"

The door opened, and in came one of the guards.

"A message for you Princess Katara. It's from the prisoner."

She took the piece of rolled up parchment and thanked him. When he went away, she took the message curiously and opened it. After she finished reading it, she sat down on her chair from shock.

'_Katara-_

_I know I have only known you for a couple of days now, but I can't help but think about you. I don't know what it is, but I just sit here wishing you were with me. Katara, I think I love you. Please come get me as soon as you get this._

_-Zuko'_

She read it over about ten more times until she finally told herself she wasn't dreaming. But it was so sudden! Did he really love her? As she read it, she felt butterflies rise in her abdomen, and her heart began to race. There was only one way to find out.

As Katara walked down the quiet hall towards the cell, all she thought about was what he would say to her. And then of course, she was thinking about how loudly her heart was beating. Could it please just slow down, and quiet itself a notch? This was no way to go greet Zuko. She stood there in silence waiting for him to say something. Then she remembered.

"The fish is in the hole."

Zuko perked his head up happily and raced to the door.

"Katara! You're here!"

"Yes… I have to talk to you."

They made the walk out in silence surprisingly. Zuko was curious to know what she wanted to talk about that seemed so important that she didn't want to discuss it in front of the guards. Finally, when they were out in the fresh air, looking at the city with its people going about their daily business, and the guards lurking away in the shadows again, she stopped and they sat down. Katara breathed in deeply and then spoke.

"Zuko… do you really mean what you said?"

"What are you talking about?"

She felt so stupid, actually thinking he liked her back.

"… The note you told the guard to bring to me?"

Zuko looked as shocked as Katara when she handed him the letter.

"This! Do you think it's a joke?"

He read it over carefully and when she saw his eyes turn serious, she knew he had read that certain little part that made all the difference. Zuko handed her the note and sighed. If he could have, he would have written the note himself, but for now, he had to look like it didn't matter to him at all.

"I didn't write that. I never wrote anything. This is fake."

Katara looked at him numb struck. First she thought he liked her, then he didn't and now she wasn't sure at all.

"So, you would never write that…" she asked slyly.

"Well… no I never said that… I just mean that well, someone pretended to be me… and they wanted you to think it was me."

Only one person came to mind, Yue.

"It was Yue! I know it was! Oh, when I find her…"

Zuko caught her arm and she stopped, turned and looked at him.

"Katara, you don't know that it was Yue. Let's just forget about it and enjoy the day."

He pointed towards the city and she smiled. He was right; she was worrying too much about something that must have been a practical joke set to anger her. It had, but she wouldn't let that ruin her day with Zuko.

"Come on. I want you to meet some friends I have."

He looked optimistic, and followed her. The guards followed just as well. They would not lose the two like last time.

"Oh look! There they are now!"

Zuko and Katara walked across the bridge and stood near a door to a tall building. Suddenly, a bunch of little kids ran out yelling and screaming happily.

"Katara! Katara!"

"You finally came!"

"We thought you left forever!"

She laughed as she motioned for them to stop clinging to her parka. Zuko looked on amused, and Katara smiled gently at him. Finally, they all stopped screaming, and only one voice was heard from the group.

"We missed you Katara…"

Katara picked up the boy and hugged him. She held him in her arms and smiled.

"I brought a friend with me today! I would like you all to meet Zuko!"

They all turned their attention towards him, and he put one hand over his neck, and the other simply waved. He chuckled slightly and smiled. The kids gave each other blank stares, but then all at once they rushed up to him.

"You look so cool!"

"Is that a real scar?"

"Why are you so tall?"

"Do you know any neat tricks?"

Even the boy in Katara's arms reached towards Zuko and so she gave the little boy to him, and he was now in Zuko's arms. Zuko laughed along with Katara as the boy started to play with his hair. Swoosh, swoosh. Suddenly, all of their hands reached up towards Zuko.

"I call piggy back first!"

"No! I was first!"

"You are both wrong! Zuko is giving _me_ a ride first!"

Katara held her side as she laughed in pain. Finally she caught some breath.

"Kids, kids! Settle down! Zuko will give you all rides, if you get in a nice line."

It was like magic. All of the chaos subsided, and they all formed a nice line. Of course not before hitting each other on the head, and pulling over each other's hoods. Zuko glanced at Katara and she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She felt bad for him, so she went and stood right next to him.

"Okay. I'm going to be giving rides too."

A bunch of 'Yays' were heard from the line as Zuko and Katara both picked up a kid and put them on their backs. They began to run around, and then the two kids cried out to one another. Seems like they wanted to do battle as they were given a piggyback ride. So Katara and Zuko ran to each other and then dodged at the last second. It was so much fun, that Katara hadn't even realized the gong for lunch sounded. Sadly, they said good-bye to the children.

"Zuko! Will you come play with us soon?"

He chuckled and smiled; feeling so good inside to know someone actually liked him for who he was. A child's love was contagious and it spread inside him.

"Of course I will. I'll come back with Katara."

Zuko looked at her with a soft smile, and she looked away smiling, because she felt a faint warmth spread across her cheeks. They walked back up to the palace in high spirits. When it was time to separate, Katara turned towards the guards.

"I would like you to escort the prisoner to my room after lunch has ended so that we can resume our fun."

The two guards looked at Katara eyeing her, but Zuko kept looking back at her while he was taken away. Katara did the same thing, but they took turns doing it, so that neither saw the other looking. She got to lunch and it went fine, without any problems. Afterwards, Katara took Sokka aside.

"Hey Sokka? I just wanted to let you know something."

He smirked. Their plan must have worked.

"Can you keep this between just the two of us? Okay, well, you know what father told me? That Yue is never going to get married. He won't allow any man to touch his daughter. And so I think you should back him up and do the same. Keep her away from any man, especially that prisoner."

Sokka looked at her angrily and then grabbed her arm.

"What do you mean?" he hissed at her.

"Well, didn't you know? She's been spending the past few days with that prisoner she told us all about! I thought you knew…"

His nostrils flared and he raged off to go find Yue. Katara smiled. She wouldn't be bothered any longer.

Back at her room, she saw the guards already standing there with Zuko. When he saw her, his golden eyes lit up. They walked side by side, the guards a few feet behind them. Zuko and Katara were so close in fact, that they didn't see the food she gave to him.

"Zuko, I want to show you this really cool place before we head back to the city."

"Okay, well I'm a bit tired out anyway. Those kids have unending energy! It's like they could go on and on just playing each day."

She laughed and he smiled. Katara just felt so much at ease with him, like it was perfectly normal to act so un-princess like with him. He didn't have that high special royalty hung under his nose like Yue either. It was like a perfect match, except for the fact that they were from enemy nations. She sighed as they stopped in front of a circular door.

"Here we are. Go on in."

Katara opened the small door, and Zuko just barely fit through. Katara followed, but the men decided to just stand guard outside. When Zuko walked in, a broad smile graced his face. Katara saw this and smiled herself.

"Come on!"

She grabbed his hand and led him across the bridge to a small area with a pond and small bamboo trees in the background. Both of them took their parka's off as the warmth surrounded them, so it was no longer cold.

"What is this place? It feels so much like… home…"

Zuko sat down on the grass with his legs crossed and admired the green grass.

"It's the most spiritual place in the north. I come here often when I want to get away from people like Yue. Afterwards, I feel like I can overcome anything."

She sat down on the grass next to him, and she watched the two fish play in the water, circling each other like always. Zuko hadn't seen the fish though because he was too focused on admiring Katara's beauty. Not only was she beautiful, but she had a heart of gold. She knew things about the spirits, so she was intelligent. And she was so great with the kids in the city. In one word, she was perfect.

Katara turned her head to Zuko when she saw him looking at her through the corner of her eye. Why had he been staring at her? When she looked at him, he looked away, up to the sky, anywhere but to her. Finally he just rested his back on the grass and closed his eyes, taking in all of the tranquility. He really did feel like he was being reborn and refreshed of all negative things in his mind. Suddenly, he felt someone hovering over him. He opened his eyes, to see Katara smirking at him.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. It's just funny to see someone as _deep_ as you surrendering to nature."

She smiled as she let go of the water she had cupped in her hands. It spilled onto his face and then he shook it off. Katara laughed freely, and then Zuko sat up. His face was now right in front of hers, and their bodies very close to one another.

"So you think that's funny?"

She stifled her laugh, but was still smiling.

"No, not at all!"

"Well, maybe you will think this is funny then."

Katara backed away a bit, as Zuko arched his arms, and then held his hands together. He was lost in her smile, and only wanted to brighten it even more. Zuko hadn't thought at all about what he was doing. So he looked down at his hands, as a flame erupted and then he pushed it up slightly, so it circled above his head.

"Look! I'm Ozai! The great fire lord!"

Zuko said this in a mocking tone, and Katara laughed even more. But suddenly the flame vanished, and her laughter was replaced with a gasp. The two guards pulled Zuko up forcefully and put his hands behind his back. She got up swiftly and ran after them, making sure she picked up both of their parkas first. All along the way back to the cell, they were quiet. Before Zuko was shoved into the cell, Katara handed him his parka and tried to smile. The creaky door shut close, and Zuko saw the glimpse image of her eyes, before they faded away. When they were out of the hall, Katara stood before the two guards desperately.

"Please. I beg of you two! Don't tell the Chief!"

"But if we don't, we could be accused of treason! You could just as well Princess."

"I know, but hear me out! Just because he is from the fire nation, and he is a fire bender, does that already make him our enemy? All of these days in the cell, he could have escaped somehow, but he hasn't! He's just sat there wasting away his days in the darkness! If he was our enemy, he would have killed me by now! But he hasn't. He isn't our enemy, so I beg of you two to not say a word of this to my father."

They exchanged worried glances, but the look Katara gave them was so desperate, so pleading, that they caved in.

"Okay, we won't tell. But if something happens, it is not our fault."

She nodded her head, and then surprisingly gave each guard a hug. They reluctantly accepted and smiled.

"Thank you both so much!"

And so she walked off, happy to know she had made a friend, and that he wasn't going away any time soon.

..:-:..

"I can't believe you Yue! How could you do that to me?"

She huffed and sighed.

"Sokka, I don't see what you are getting so worked up over!"

"You are my sister! And you were with that guy! Who knows what could have happened to you!"

"Well, I'm glad you care Sokka, but nothing happened! And besides, I was only doing it to get Katara angry and jealous!"

He stopped pacing around the room, and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"How could she be jealous?"

Yue rolled her eyes. Men always had to figure things out so slowly. And there it was, a grin on his face that meant he had finally understood.

"_Oh!_ So you think she likes him?"

"Of course she does! Why else would she have gone out of her way to save him at that meeting?"

"Well… do you think our plan worked?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that she won't be happy for long."

"Why?"

Sokka leaned in eagerly and grabbed Yue's hands in anticipation. She threw his hands away and smirked.

"You will find out soon enough. All I'm saying is, she is going to get some very sad news. Some _very_ sad news indeed."

* * *

**A/N:** Another plan in action! Lol Not gonna say what it is! Lol You'll have to wait and see just like Sokka! Lol Okay, so yeah, this seems all repetitive and all, right? well no worries! This fic is now going to pic up the pace!

Next chapter shall be VERY good… not so happy, but good I hope! Lol Hope this one didn't bore you too much! Lol thanks for reading! Review?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Another long long chapter! Are you ready? You never know what twists will come about! lol

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Katara woke up; this time, her dream had gone into further detail. As she went into the fire, Zuko emerged out of it. He pleaded with her to help him, but she was yanked away once more, and that's when she woke up. These dreams were trying to tell her something, but she didn't know what it could have possibly been. Well that didn't matter because she was going to go see Zuko anyway.

When she entered the room for breakfast, she was greeted by a stunning surprise. There was her whole family gathered, and even Yue was smiling. It looked like a real smile, but she was going to be on her guard. They clapped as she walked in and her mother smiled at her warmly. What was going on? Katara sat down and then Nasu cleared his throat.

"Today is a special day. It is the day our dear Katara turns sixteen. To celebrate, we will be having a ball tonight for all of the city to attend. Katara, we all give you the best wishes for your future. Now, let's begin this wonderful day with a wonderful breakfast!"

Nasu sat down and everyone nodded their heads as the food was brought in. Katara was numb struck. She had completely forgotten about her own birthday. Was it because she was thinking so much about Zuko? Katara smiled as the food was brought in and along with it came a few water benders. Pakku stood up and joined them. Each of them moved their hands in a different fluid motion, and in just a few minutes, the words 'Happy Birthday Katara' were spelled out in water that hovered in the air. All of them cheered and then the water benders bowed. Katara thanked everyone for their gracious display and breakfast went along as usual.

She finished up her meal as fast as she could because she wanted to go see Zuko. That would be a perfect birthday, spend the day with Zuko and then have the ball at night in her honor. Everyone had left except for Katara, Shira and Nasu. When Katara stood up, Nasu motioned for her to sit back down.

"Katara, we have something very important and exciting to discuss with you."

She shrugged, all she wanted to do was hear what they had to say and then get out of there.

"Yes? I'm listening."

Shira took the glance from her husband as a signal for her to begin talking, so that is what she did.

"Katara, we wanted to wish you the best on this wonderful occasion. We would also like to inform you… that tonight at the ball, you will meet many men."

Her eyes widened. What were they playing at? Nasu cleared his throat and took a drink of his water.

"Katara, since you are now of marrying age, we need to find you a suitable suitor."

"What?"

She stood up enraged. This couldn't have been really happening.

"Katara sweetheart, nothing is um… _guaranteed_. Just be yourself at the ball tonight, and you will see if you like someone there. I'm sure you will. Today we need to get you ready and as beautiful as possible. Yue's hand maidens will be assisting us with that task."

Her head was buzzing and she had to sit down so that she wouldn't fall over. How could this be happening? She didn't want to get married! Especially not to someone she hardly knew! This was turning out to be a bad start to her glorious day as a sixteen year old.

"We know this is a lot to take in right in the morning, but everything will turn out for the best. You will see. Now go on back to your room, there is already a staff waiting for you. Shira, will you go with her and make sure she is her best for the night?"

Her mother nodded and together, she and Katara stood up and walked out of the room.

"Mom! How could you two do this to me? _Yue_ isn't even married yet! How come I have to get married so fast?"

"Well honey, your father just wants what is best for you. I think that he- we, feel that it is best if you have a man around to stabilize you."

"Stabilize me?" now she was yelling at her mother, "I don't need anyone to _stabilize_ me!"

Her mother tilted her head and looked at her daughter seriously. Katara sighed. There was no way she was going to get out of this. The two of them reached her room, and in it was maybe ten or fifteen people waiting for her. Immediately, Katara was grabbed by the hand and taken into her room. The preparations started.

..:-:..

After about three hours of grooming, bathing, and picking out which outfit she would wear for each part of the day, Katara was finally able to look at herself in the mirror. When she did do that, she couldn't believe her eyes. Before her stood someone who looked so elegant, so mature, that she didn't think it was herself she was looking at. Her hair was combed through to perfection, with twists of it up and twists of it down. She looked spectacularly glamorous and she the smiling ladies in the room agreed.

"I wanted to thank you all for all of your hard work. Because of it, I am going to give you all the day off!"

The woman cheered happily, and while they were discussing their own preparations for the ball, Katara slipped off and she went to the one person she had been dying to see all morning long.

"The fish is in the hole!"

Zuko smiled and stood up like usual.

"Hi Katara, what are we going to do today?"

Katara sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry Zuko, I can't go anywhere with you today. Today is my birthday and…"

"Oh! Then, Happy Birthday. May all your birthday wishes come true…"

Katara smiled and chuckled quietly.

"Thank you… but you see, there is going to be a ball in my honor, so that means that I can't be here much longer. I have to prepare and everything."

"Oh… well… will I see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes! Most definitely. But you know what else? My parents told me I have to get married! Can you believe that? The nerve of them!"

Zuko chuckled and then he stopped when he saw her eyes become narrow and serious.

"You think that's funny? You think that because my parents are going to force someone to marry me, that it is _funny_? Zuko!"

"No Katara. You have it all wrong. I'm not laughing at that, but the irony of it."

She looked confused.

"What irony?"

"Well, another reason why I was so happy to be banished was because I was supposed to marry this girl, and I had no clue what she was like. I'm so glad I got out of there, or I would have been in trouble for the rest of my life!"

After he had said that, Katara became quiet. He realized that he shouldn't have said that, because she couldn't escape her situation like he did his. He was about to say something when she started to speak again.

"Before I go, one more thing. Did the guards do anything to you? Did they mention anything about _you know what_?"

"No they didn't. They really are trustworthy. That surprises me. At home, it would be completely different."

"Yeah… okay, well I'll you see tomorrow."

"Yeah… bye."

Zuko sat down and saw her eyes vanish. He put his head in his hands and muttered to himself. He had tried to seem happy for her. Zuko didn't want her to know that because of what she told him he was now saddened. Somewhere deep down, he didn't want her to get married, just as much as she didn't want to.

..:-:..

The rest of the day went by slowly for Katara. She received lecture upon lecture about how she must act, how she must dance, how she must do this and that. It was all so pointless to her, but as a princess it was her duty. Those stupid duties again! Once or twice in the day, she had thought about what Zuko said. He had said that he was glad to be banished… because he didn't have to get married. How lucky he must have been to escape that torture. She on the other hand, had to face it head on.

Night came and everyone was busy setting up for the ball. Katara was pushed around just like she had been all day. Finally the gong sounded, and she along with the rest of her family went into the Grand Ball Room from the back. Applause resounded through the room as the royal family took their seats. Katara had an honorary place today right next to her father. Occasionally, Katara would glance at Yue, who seemed to hate every single second of it. Her father stood up, and the crowd and musicians became silenced.

"Today, we celebrate a grand occasion. My daughter, Katara, has turned sixteen and is now of marrying age. Tonight we show her off to you all, we are very proud of our princess. Now, I would invite you all to enjoy this feast and to celebrate along with us!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as Katara stood up and bowed. Her cheeks became flushed. All of these people had come to honor her; tears wounded up in her eyes, but she held them back, smiled, and waved to all the people who were there. First the feast began, and they ate merrily. She saw Sokka and Yue talking and whispering to one another, but she discarded whatever they must have been talking about. Probably some kind of prank she didn't care about.

"Yue, look, she doesn't seem sad or angry. What if she didn't find out yet?"

"Oh she did. I overheard them at breakfast this morning. She was definitely angry."

"Well, she's not angry anymore! Yue, our plans are now all in the dumps. Whatever we do, just doesn't affect her anymore!"

Yue sat there with her arms crossed. But then a sly grin stroked her lips. Sokka just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yue, whatever you are thinking, it's not going to work. Nothing has worked."

"Sokka, all we have to do, is get her to spill out some kind of secret she has. Oh! What if she knows something about Zuko that we don't know about? I bet she does Sokka!"

"Well even if she does, how would we get it out of her?"

Yue stood up and smiled.

"Just watch and learn."

Everyone was dancing now. Katara sighed as a man came up to her and bowed. She forced a smile and then looked at her parents. Nasu nodded his approval, and Shira gave her a comforting smile. The young man took her hand and put his other arm around her waist. She sort of shifted uncomfortably, but then she reminded to herself about the lecture she had received throughout the day about her duties. So she sighed, and put her other free arm around his shoulder. They danced and danced, and finally the song was over. He took her hand and kissed it gently, while smiling. Katara chuckled slightly and watched him leave. She was going to head back to her seat, when another man closer to her age this time asked her to dance.

"Of course. I'd be _delighted_."

So Katara sighed and once again found herself being twirled here and there. Yue grabbed someone, and started to dance her way over to Katara. The young man Katara was dancing with had some of his hair pulled back into a ponytail, but his bangs hung loosely around his face. His smile sent shivers up her spine, but not the same as when she saw Zuko. These were '_oh my god he's disgusting'_ shivers.

"Hello Princess. My name is Haan and you won't be disappointed with my skills on the dance floor."

She smiled sheepishly just to be nice. He brought her closer to him, and when she tried to push him away a bit, he just pulled her in closer. In the background, Nasu stood up, and Haan saw this, so he let go of her slightly.

"I hear you are a bit of a rebel. I like rebels. I'm somewhat of one myself. We could make a good couple Katara."

She felt the shivers go down her spine again, but she rested her head on his shoulder because she was just so tired from all the dancing. Haan smirked. He must have thought that she liked him, but Katara didn't care. She was just hoping the dance would be over soon. Yue finally got herself and her dancing partner right next to Katara and Haan.

"So, you know, I've heard that you were going to go fight off the Fire Nation. That is going to be so difficult, but it is so brave of you too."

Yue leaned into the man she was dancing with and he smiled. Obviously he liked being called brave.

"Well you know me, I like to go fight for my people. If I find any kind of fire nation trash, I usually take them out within a second."

Katara's head perked up when she heard this and she gasped. Yue saw her expression and smiled evilly to herself. Haan looked curious.

"Katara, what's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing… Can you dance just a bit slower, I feel kind of dizzy."

"Whatever you say, your highness."

Katara tried her best to focus in on Yue's conversation. There was no way word could have leaked out about Zuko, she made sure of it, hadn't she?

"Wow, so even if let's say, there was a person from the fire nation right here, what would you do about it?"

"Attack them of course! I serve my people and I fight for their safety! I fight for _your_ safety."

The man leaned into Yue, but she laughed coyly and pushed him away jokingly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katara leaning on their every word.

"Would you be brave enough, even if the person was… _a fire bender_?"

Katara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped onto Haan's shoulder. Yue smirked to herself. She had gotten the fish; hook, line, and bait.

"Oh yeah! If there was a fire bender here, I would make them pay for all the suffering they have caused all over the world!"

That was enough. Yue danced with him towards the table again, and when they got there, she bowed to her partner, and joined Sokka again.

"Sokka, you will not believe what I just found out."

She whispered in his ear so that her father wouldn't hear what they were saying. Nasu had taken Shira by the hand and they headed out towards the crowd of people dancing. Yue smiled. This was too easy.

"Sokka, this is going to be unbelievable! Wait till you hear it!"

He growled angrily.

"Yue! I don't have all night you know! Just tell me already!"

"Okay, well I was dancing right? And I had this hunch that if I talked about something long enough, and Katara would get all scared, then I would have found out what she was hiding. Well… I started to talk about the fire nation, and the fire benders, and get this; she went completely white and scared stiff! Sokka… this means that Zuko is a _fire bender!_"

Sokka stepped back and gasped, while waving his hands in the air in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on Yue. That is just a hunch you have! It doesn't mean right away just because she got scared, that Zuko is from the fire nation! Although it would be nice to find out…"

"See? That's just it! All we have to do is get some guards, tell them what we think, and there you go! Zuko gets interrogated like there is no tomorrow! So? You with me?"

Sokka glanced around the room, which was filled with happy people. Then he spotted a group of pretty girls.

"Sorry Yue, but you are on your own on this one. I don't know what's happened to you… it's like you're way too mean to be Yue. I mean, sure we've done bad things before, but this is just way too much. Besides, the ball doesn't come around that often. I'm going to go have fun. See ya."

Yue growled furiously as she watched Sokka head out to the dance floor. Oh well, she would have to go do this on her own.

Katara couldn't stand on her feet that well, so Haan wrapped his arms around her more tightly. Suddenly, she became stiff, and he could feel her heartbeat quicken.

"What's wrong? You're really tense."

"Um… nothing, nothing. I think I need a drink of water. It was a lovely dance, thank you."

She quickly bowed and hurried off. There weren't many people eating now, they were all dancing and having fun. Katara found the table with the water and took a drink. Once she was done with the whole cup, she scanned the crowd for any sign of Yue. There was Sokka, with a bunch of girls of course, but no Yue. All at once, she got a sick feeling in her stomach, and needed to sit down. Katara jumped when she felt two hands on her shoulders.

"Katara, you've done a magnificent job this evening, but there are many more men out there."

She looked up into her father's eyes and sighed.

"Father I'm so tired though. Could I go walk around in the fresh air for a while?"

"Sure… but first, I think that there is a man over there waiting."

Katara stood up and sighed. One more dance, and then she had to go find Zuko.

..:-:..

Yue found two guards just in front of the staircase the led downstairs. She told them of the situation, and they agreed to help her out. Then she readied herself to go get Zuko.

"Hello Princess Yue. Why aren't you at the ball?"

"Oh, well you see, my father thought it would be nice to bring him upstairs to come and join us. I've got two other guards upstairs already waiting."

They let her pass without any questions and she made her way. When Zuko saw the blue eyes, he didn't even bother, because he remembered that Katara said she wouldn't be able to see him until the next day.

"What do you want?"

"Well Zuko, I was just thinking, I don't see why you couldn't come up to the ball. You would fit right in, wearing that parka and all."

Zuko grimaced at the thought of having to go to a ball with Yue, but then again, Katara would be there. So he stood up and agreed. Yue clapped joyously and walked up the stairs practically bouncing. When they got out of the stairwell, Zuko scratched his head.

"Uh, why are we going this way? The music is that way."

"Oh Zuko, I'm _so sorry,_ but it seems like there has been a change of plans. Guards!"

Two more guards came to join the group, so now there were four. One grabbed Zuko's arms, and pulled them behind his back. Another pulled a cloth around his mouth so he wouldn't be able to yell. The two others dragged Zuko into a room, and Yue checked to make sure no one saw, and when she was sure, she smirked and closed the door.

Inside, Yue gasped as she saw what the guards were doing. She hadn't any idea that these happened to be the guards that had wanted to beat him up in the first place. That's what they were doing now. Zuko trembled helplessly as they punched him in the gut, kicked his ribs and slapped his face. He tried to break free of this entanglement, but there was no hope. His efforts only made them hit him with more force. Finally, Yue couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it! I said stop!"

Each one of them turned around to Yue. She had tears running down her face.

"Why are you being so cruel? I never told you to_ kill_ him!"

"Well, you did say he was a fire bender. It is our duty to protect our people. He is a spy, so we must do what we are meant to do."

"But we don't know that for sure! You should ask him first at least!"

Zuko's eyes stared at Yue's and she felt guilt wrap around her insides. Those golden eyes were like knives diving into her heart. Never once had she felt so terrible about doing something bad to another. What was the difference then? It was him, for some reason he just struck a nerve in her body. The guards took off his parka, then his other tops, so that his back and chest were bare. Slowly they took off the cloth around his head so he could speak. But when they did that, Zuko choked and gasped for air. He was already too weak from their previous beating, there was no way he could even try and escape now.

"Where are you from?"

No answer.

"Are you from the fire nation?"

No answer. The guards nodded to each other, and they took out a whip. Yue gasped in horror and had to look away as Zuko's pained cry filled her ears. When she looked back at him, there was a bright red streak across his chest. He nodded.

"Are you a fire bender?"

No answer.

"_I said_, are you a fire bender?"

Yue felt like she was going to be sick; she couldn't take it anymore. All of her evil schemes, they were really just sick. As she heard Zuko's cry once again, she closed her eyes shut and ran out of the room through a secret door. There was no way she would be involved in this. And no one would ever find out either.

..:-:..

Katara finally got out of the festive room after about five more men asked her to dance. It was incredible; the fact that she was sixteen meant so much, especially to those men. The only decent one had been Haan, but even he too was a bit too touchy feely. That didn't matter though at the moment to her; all she wanted to do was make sure that Zuko was safe and away from Yue's plots. Something in her compelled her to make her feet run. There was something wrong, something terribly wrong. She was going to go to the prisons, if it hadn't been for the sharp cry of pain she had heard from a room that was a distance away.

Her heart raced as she heard the cry, time and time again. It was so full of pain and hurt, so much suffering. As the cries pierced her ears, they became louder and louder until finally she heard one last cry, and a thud from the behind the door she was in front of. Breathing deeply, she opened the door. Her whole body went aghast as her eyes looked over the bloody mess. No, she was dreaming, it couldn't be real.

Katara yelled at the guards to leave and to go get help. They bowed and did as they were told.

"How could they do this to you?"

She was standing over Zuko's body. He was lying face down on the floor, and his red back shined with blood. It was horrible and she couldn't describe how sickening it was. Katara's heart pounded madly in her chest, but she didn't know what to do. First, she needed to see if there was a pulse. She put two fingers up to his neck, and then sighed with relief. Zuko was still alive. The room was empty except for the two of them. Katara bit her lip, and felt cool tears run down her cheek. She had to do it, even if someone found out about it.

Her hands circled around and then they pointed down onto Zuko's back. The water rushed over the blood slowly, and soon his back was cleared. Only the red stripes were visible now, at least he wasn't bleeding anymore. She bent down and concentrated, closing her eyes and placing her hands on his back. Once or twice, she winced as she felt his hard back become soft at the places where he had been whipped. After a few minutes of this, she breathed in deeply, and then rolled him over so that he would be facing her.

As if what she had seen before wasn't gruesome enough, when she rolled him over, she gasped as she looked over his bloody chest, and his bruised ribs, and his red face. Tears fell down freely as she tried to wash away the blood and heal his skin. Then she turned to his bruises. It was a very hard technique to master, but she had to do it. First she placed water on his ribs, and then froze it slowly. Finally, she would have to melt the water into his skin very precisely. Her head buzzed with hope, and then finally she saw that she had done it successfully. Zuko looked all better. Everything was going to be all right.

She studied him as his chest rose and fell. Now she had a good luck at him. The blood had been washed away, and now what she saw made her blush. His muscles looked so overused, but strong and powerful. His neck was bold and sturdy. Then her eyes gazed at his peaceful face. There had obviously been a struggle, and he had kept true to himself and all he stood for. Suddenly his eyes flickered open and Katara looked at him in anticipation.

Zuko finally woke up to find himself feeling much better than he had previously. Something was different, but he didn't know what. Then he saw her blue eyes shining down at him and he remembered. He had been beaten and somehow now, Katara was with him. As he tried to sit up, he saw that Katara had become transformed into an ultimate beauty. Her hair was unbelievably decorated, and her face so mature. She wore a stunning white kimono, but Zuko frowned. It was stained pretty much everywhere in crimson blood. His blood?

When he sat up he just smiled, and Katara broke out in tears. He looked at her gently and tried to calm her down as he took her into his arms. Katara broke out her pain and sorrows at what she had just experienced. He caressed her in his strong sturdy arms and eventually her sobs quieted. Zuko stroked her hair and reassured her.

"Katara, I'm okay now. I'm okay, you and I are both safe now."

"Zuko…" her voice was barely a whisper, "I couldn't believe what they did to you. I thought they had…"

She tilted her head off of his shoulder and looked into his fierce golden eyes. How good it felt to see those eyes looking at her once again.

"Katara… if it wasn't for you, I might have not made it…"

Tears ran down her cheeks again, but Zuko wiped them away gently. He held her face in his hand, and with the other, he brought her closer to him. Katara was so thankful that he was still with her. She was amazed at how good it felt to be in his arms. And now she just couldn't help the overwhelming urge to just kiss him. In only a few seconds, he had leaned in and given her a long, beautiful kiss. She wrapped her arms around his bare back and felt rejoiced to know that she had saved his life. This had felt so right; she didn't care if he was the supposed enemy.

They let go of each other when they heard the shouts come from the end of the hallway. They quickly stood up and Katara helped Zuko get all of his clothes back on again. Katara looked down at herself, and saw her bloodied kimono. Zuko just shrugged, and quickly brought her in for another kiss. The embrace ended and Nasu came into the room. His eyes widened in shock and his nostrils flared as he looked over his daughter covered in a deep black red. Next to her was the prisoner. Nothing made sense.

"Katara!" he rushed to her side, and hugged her, which surprised her a great deal.

"What on earth happened?"

"Father, I'm all right, and so is Zuko."

He turned to Zuko and clenched his fists.

"What did you do to her?"

Katara pulled her father away before he did anything to him.

"Father! Listen to me! I went for a walk from the ball because I needed some room to breathe, and then I heard these awful cries. I followed them to find our guards whipping him. Father, it was horrible! He was covered in blood and bruises everywhere."

She felt the tears sting at her eyes from the memory.

"Father, I told the guards to go get help, but I tried my best to heal him, like Yugoda had taught me. I think I did a good job, and that is why my kimono is covered in blood."

His pulse died down to a steady beat and he relaxed. His frail face smiled slightly.

"So you helped him? My daughter, you make me more proud everyday. You have shown us all how sincere and dutiful you truly are. Come, we must get you cleaned up. You too."

Nasu motioned for Zuko to follow them, and so he did. Katara smiled at Zuko and he smiled back. They walked on a long distance in silence, until they finally reached their first destination.

"You… uh, _Zuko_, shall rest in here tonight. The healers will tend to you and make sure that Katara has healed everything properly."

The door opened and Zuko stepped in, not before he said something. He bowed and spoke quietly.

"I am sorry for everything that has happened. I am grateful to your daughter for having saved my life. I owe you and your tribe my services and duties."

Nasu cocked an eyebrow and looked at Katara who smiled and nodded to her father. A smile graced his lips.

"Very well. We will get everything sorted out in the morning. I think my daughter's birthday has gone off with a bang, hasn't it Katara? I don't think we need any more worries tonight."

They all bowed to one another, and then Nasu guided Katara back to her own room.

"I don't know what possessed those guards to attack and interrogate him in that manner."

Katara looked serious, but deep inside she was flaming with furiousness and with the knowledge that Yue had been behind it all.

"Father, I don't know either. It is sad to know that your own people can be the traitors sometimes."

She couldn't tell her father about Zuko and the reason he was attacked. He could not find out that he was a fire bender.

"Well, I don't want you to worry your head about anything but a peaceful night's rest. I suggest you sleep in tomorrow morning. After what you did, you have earned it."

Katara smiled joyously and hugged her father, who was surprised, but smiled and hugged his daughter back. Inside, she buzzed happily at the fact that she had finally earned her father's love.

"Good night."

"Good night father!"

She closed the door and hurriedly took off her kimono and soaked herself in a warm bath. Katara let all of her pains and memories fade away, all except one. His kiss. She felt so much more alive and whole after that, after he had kissed her. The sensation of her first kiss kept replaying over and over in her mind as she let the time slip by. Soon, she finally got out of the bath, and she slipped into her nightgown. Katara pulled back the covers and then wrapped herself in them, imagining and trying to remember how his arms felt around her. She dozed off to sleep smiling.

* * *

**A/N: **Hopefully that wasn't too sad! Lol Are you happy they finally kissed? After ALL this time? Lol I know I sure am! (smiles widely) I'll probably be able to get one more chapter up before school starts again on Monday… (curses damn school!) lol Hope you all liked it!

**I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day or night!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I would like to say that I'm so very sorry that I haven't gotten this up until now… I just became so overwhelmed with school and I didn't have the time to write it. But now I have, and so here it is! I'm not going to make any promises as to when the next chapter will be up. Hopefully by the end of the week!

Enjoy! It's the longest chapter I have _ever_ written for a fan fiction!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_The fire roared in all directions, but it didn't matter. Katara ran towards it desperately, knowing it could be a decision between life and death. She reached the very middle, and saw Zuko kneeling there in pain. Katara picked him up and kissed him. He smiled at her and embraced her warmly._

'_Thank you Katara for saving me… never leave my side again, promise?'_

_She was about to answer with a 'yes', when she was pulled away._

'_Mom! What are you doing? I need to be with Zuko!'_

'_You can't. He's dangerous, he can hurt you.'_

_She saw his eyes calling out to her, and hot tears fell from her eyes._

'_No he won't… he will never hurt me…'_

Katara woke up feeling like she died. It was all so sad; it wasn't a nightmare anymore, it was like someone was killing her slowly, forcing her to be without the person she… loved? She shook her head in response to her thoughts. So what if she and Zuko kissed? That didn't mean she loved him… or that he loved her. All she knew was that he liked her enough to kiss her, and she the same. Her reoccurring dreams kept haunting her thoughts in the back of her mind, but that's where they stayed. She looked outside and saw the sun high in the sky. It must have been already past breakfast, but that was all right. Katara yawned and got herself ready.

When she stepped outside of her room, she was greeted by a shocking surprise.

"Zuko! What are you doing here?"

He smiled, pulled her in close, and gave her a kiss. Zuko was somewhere not on earth, because he felt like he was on top of it. Every second with this girl, woman really, made him feel so good. Her kiss awakened each nerve in his body, and his heart filled up with this kind of emotion, but he didn't know how to explain it. When their lips parted, he could tell she felt the same thing, he could see it in her eyes.

"Good morning Katara."

She giggled slightly and smiled.

"Good morning Zuko. So, what are you doing here?"

"I already thought I answered that question," he responded slyly.

Katara hit him on the shoulder playfully again, and he picked her up by her waist and flung her on his shoulder. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Zuko! Zuko… stop… it!"

He smiled and put her down.

"Do you just have to twirl me around every time you see me?"

"Of course."

They smiled and were about to hug each other, when a guard passed by Katara's room. Zuko chuckled.

"That reminds me why I came here."

Katara glanced at him and curled her lip.

"Oh really? Why then, if what you just displayed wasn't the reason why you came?"

"It was, but there's another reason too," he became more serious, and so did she, "your father wanted to talk to the both of us. That is, after I am to escort you to eat breakfast."

She nodded, and they made their way down to the room where she always ate breakfast with her family. It was empty of course and some servants were clearing the table. They bowed to Katara and Zuko, and then they brought in a plate of food for her highness. Katara ate quickly, but not without the usual interruption from Zuko. The one where he threw a grape or two at her, and she would throw it back. Finally she was finished, and then they stood up when Nasu entered. Their fun and games were over.

"Sit down please," he sighed and continued, "as we all know, there is a concern about what happened last night. Would someone like to explain to me what exactly happened?"

Zuko closed his eyes solemnly, and then sighed.

"I was taken from my cell last night by those guards you have arrested. Then they took me into another room, far away from everyone else, as you know. They started to… kick, and punch me…"

Katara had to close her eyes to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. Nasu realized this and held up a hand to signal for Zuko to stop with the details.

"Do you have any idea _why_ they did what they did?"

"They thought I was from the fire nation."

"Yes… yes, that's what I heard."

Katara's eyes popped out, but when she saw Zuko's narrow glance, she calmed down. She shouldn't blow this for the both of them. He had a plan.

"I agreed, only because they began to… whip me. I couldn't take the pain anymore."

Nasu nodded his head; obviously he had heard this story from someone else.

"In my knowledge, I am aware that they then proceeded to ask you if you were a fire bender. How come you didn't agree to that as well?"

Katara was hearing this for the first time and she couldn't believe it. Yue must have been behind it; it was all too coincidental for it not to be her.

"Sir, I didn't agree to it because I didn't want to loose all of my honor."

"But yet, you said before you didn't want to endure the pain."

"Yes, at that point, I thought it was the right thing to do. But then I realized that it wasn't right of me to admit to something that would be a lie. Even if it would mean punishment by whipping."

Nasu seemed surprised by his answer. This man was very honorable indeed, and he hadn't threatened anyone with his presence. Katara seemed perfectly fine when she was along side him. The guards would be exiled for treason to their tribe.

"I see your point young man. I am very shocked though to find out that the guards say it was all their doing. They say, that no one instructed them to do that horrible deed."

Zuko wanted with every fiber in his being to tell Katara's father that Yue had ordered the men to do it. But he held his tongue back; he didn't want to be on Nasu's bad side.

"Father, I would like to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Well, Zuko said yesterday that he would provide his services to our tribe. I was thinking, could he be my personal guard?"

The question shocked both of them, but Zuko was perfectly happy she had asked. Nasu, on the other hand, was skeptical.

"Katara, since when did you need a person guard?"

"Since four of our most esteemed men committed treason."

Nasu sighed and looked over at Zuko. He stood up and bowed.

"Sir, I would be honored to offer my services to your daughter. I will make sure that nothing happens to her."

Nasu believed him. Zuko had won him over as well.

"All right. I believe Katara has a point once again, and I believe you Zuko, are a fine person to do the job. I will now leave you two. Katara, remember your duties, and don't go too far from the palace."

Nasu was about to stand up, when they each heard the gong resound.

"My, is it all ready time for lunch? I guess I will just sit back down then."

He smiled to them both.

"Father, may we go get freshened up? We will be right back."

"All right. Be quick."

They walked out of the room, and Zuko grabbed her to the side.

"Zuko, what's wrong?"

"Katara, I'm not sure if I should have told him."

"Told him what? That you are a fire bender? No way. You would be gone for good!"

"Shh! No not that… There was someone else who was involved yesterday."

Katara's eyes narrowed. She knew it.

"It was Yue! Wasn't it?"

Zuko nodded his head gravely, but she realized why he hadn't said anything. She put her hand on Zuko's shoulder, and gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

"Zuko, you did the right thing. You are very brave and unselfish."

He smiled softly, and then they walked back into the room. In a few minutes, the rest of the family joined. Zuko was about to leave, when Nasu raised a hand to stop him.

"No Zuko, come and eat with us. I insist."

He bowed, and sat down next to Katara. Zuko saw that Yue looked horrible, she was petrified and her skin seemed whiter than usual. Whenever he glanced in her direction, she looked away ashamed. Obviously, she had felt remorse for her actions. But she still made the guards do it in the first place, and that wasn't something so easily forgiven. At the end of the meal, Zuko helped Katara stand up and she smiled. Yue saw this and felt something in her heart ache. Why did she feel so sad to see them so happy?

..:-:..

"Come on Zuko! I want to show you the whole city, now that we don't have those stupid guards lurking around after us!"

She grabbed his hand and they made their way to a canal. There was a small narrow boat waiting with a water bender at its end. Katara climbed in, and Zuko looked her hesitantly.

"Uh, Katara, are you sure about this? Everyone will see us."

"So? Come on Zuko! It will be fun!"

He stepped into the boat, and it rocked a bit. Katara laughed and grabbed Zuko to balance him. They both sat down, opposite each other while the water bender began to flow the water beneath them. Zuko looked around excitedly as the people came out of their homes and walked onto the bridges to wave at the two of them. Zuko didn't know it, but this was one of her duties, to go and greet the people of the tribe. On their way back to the palace, the people had gone back inside their homes to do their daily chores and things like that. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a snowball landed on Zuko's head.

"What was that?"

Katara laughed, and then covered her mouth. With her other hand, she pointed shyly to his head, and when he touched it, his eyes popped out. He growled, and quickly wiped the snow away. Then he started to look everywhere to see what rascal it had been. After tirelessly searching and seeing no one, he turned back to see Katara smirking.

"So, it was _you_! I should have known…"

She gave him a stern look. He quickly corrected himself.

"I should have known you sent me that present!"

He smiled and they both laughed quietly. It was so wonderful just being with the other, and life was just peachy keen like that, wasn't it?

..:-:..

Yue made her way down to the prisons to find only one guard down there, and to find him sleeping on the job. She snapped her fingers in his face and then he woke up with a start, scrambled to his feet, and bowed apologetically.

"I'm so sorry Princess. What can I do for you?"

She sighed impatiently.

"I'm just here to see Zuko like I always am! Can you please open the…"

"Sorry, but Zuko is no longer here."

"What? Then where is he?"

"Didn't you hear? Chief Nasu has pardoned him, and assigned him the job of being Princess Katara's personal guard. I believe you will be receiving one shortly as well…"

Her jaw dropped and her insides flew around like she had eaten some kind of spicy pepper.

"You must be kidding! There is no way…"

"I am not joking your highness. It is true. As for Zuko, he and Princess Katara could be anywhere in the city. I have no idea where they could be."

Yue stormed up the stairs at lightening speed. Somehow, she felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away furiously, and then practically ran out of the palace. She would find them both. There was no way Zuko was going to be with Katara.

..:-:..

Zuko got out of the boat, and gave Katara his hand. She accepted it, and then stepped off of it as well with his help. They thanked the water bender for the ride, and he bowed in respect. Zuko and Katara walked relatively close to one another, but they made sure it didn't look too close, otherwise, someone would find out about them, and tell Nasu. Katara showed him the inner city, where all of the little shops and markets were. Zuko looked at everything curiously and Katara practically had to drag him away from all of the displays. One market interested Zuko especially, and Katara couldn't get him away without buying something.

"That looks good! What is it?"

"Oh _that_! It's stewed sea prunes! Are you sure you want to try it?"

He clung to his stomach and winced.

"Yeah, I'm starving!"

"Even though we ate not long ago?"

Zuko chuckled and nodded. Katara rolled her eyes, but smiled at the man selling the food.

"Hello, I would like to get some stewed sea prunes for my friend please!"

"Anything you would want your highness," he took a bowl and handed it to Zuko, "here you are. Enjoy!"

Zuko looked at the bowl hungrily and began to gulp down the soup. After a few bites, his eyes widened, and Zuko had to choke the soup out. Katara laughed, as did the man. Zuko however looked not amused at all.

"I think we will take some of that sparkling water please."

The man handed a bottle to each of them, but Zuko reluctantly gave it back.

"Sparkling water? What, is it going to explode in my face or something?"

Katara spewed out the water she was drinking, and it sprayed out onto Zuko. She burst out laughing and then Zuko joined in at the irony. He took the bottle back from the man, after wiping away his wet face. The water felt so refreshing and energizing.

"Wow, this is the best water ever! Where did you get it from? I've never tasted anything like it!"

"It's the water tribe's specialty! It can only be found right here."

"Oh…"

"Thank you so much!"

Katara thanked him and he waved back. Zuko didn't realize she left, so he ran up to her.

"Why did you just leave me?"

"Well I'm sorry Zuko, but I thought my _guard_ would be the first to notice me leaving."

She joked and he rolled his head around and stretched.

"You know what Katara? I feel really good from that drink. You want to practice bend…"

Katara put a hand over his mouth and looked at him with her wide eyes.

"Zuko! Watch what you are saying! What's wrong with you? Do you just want to give it all away?"

Her hand fell from his mouth, and she stepped away. He looked away ashamed, but then he saw her look at him with a sparkle in her eyes, a sparkle of adventure.

"Come on Zuko. What are you waiting for?"

They walked on and on, until Katara found the spot. Rarely anyone came by there so it would be safe to practice their bending. Zuko smiled as Katara began to wave her arms around gracefully. Zuko controlled his breathing, and pushed fire out of his hands up into the air. Suddenly, Zuko's fire was put out, and steam hovered in the air. Zuko turned around to see Katara smirking, standing in a fighting stance.

"So how do you think you will do against a water bender Zuko?"

"I don't know, but I'll try you… just for fun."

They both grinned at each other, and then the fight began. Katara gracefully moved her arms in a circle, then in a counter clockwise direction, and finally pushed the water behind her towards Zuko. He dodged it with a fiery flame of fire.

"Is that all you got Katara?"

She smirked.

"Oh, you've seen _nothing_ yet Zuko."

He waited until she made a move first. She smiled the whole time as her hands worked their magic, sending balls of ice hurtling at Zuko from every direction. He twisted and turned, punched as many of the balls of ice with his fire as was possible. Then suddenly, he smirked and stood still. Katara wondered what he was doing, and her senses awakened inside of her. What if he would really try to hurt her?

The answer came right away. Zuko inhaled and then let out a blaze of fire from his mouth. Katara's eyes widened as the fire turned upwards and began to hover above them. On Zuko's face was a smirk so wicked, that she thought she froze on the spot. Her thoughts raced, and one thing kept ringing through her mind. _'Katara, fire is not beautiful. It will hurt you!' _She gasped as Zuko motioned his hands in a circling motion. The fire was now going right towards her. Weren't they just practicing? He wouldn't dream of hurting her, right?

For some reason she couldn't move her body. No muscle was moving during those fearful moments. Why was she so scared stiff? All she saw was Zuko's smirk. This wasn't the least bit funny. The fire was roaring towards her swiftly and right when it was about to hit her, she picked up her arms, flung them around her head, and a shield of water shot up to encase her. When Katara opened her eyes, she saw Zuko standing right in front of her, still smirking. Behind him was the fire, rotating endlessly. It was behind her too. The fire was circling around them, dangerously close, and within mere seconds, Katara's shield of ice evaporated. This wasn't funny anymore. Katara found her strength again, and shot a stream of water at the circling fire. She smiled as steam erupted, but the smile disappeared when the circle just enclosed itself again, this time closer to them.

Zuko now put his arm around Katara's waist and pulled her in strongly. Her eyes widened with fright. There was no way out of this, and the fire was coming nearer and nearer by the second. Beads of sweat prickled down both Katara's and Zuko's faces. He leaned in close to her, and she trembled as she felt his hot breath against her neck.

"Why are you so scared? I thought you were tougher than that."

His voice was barely a whisper and it was so sinister that she flinched. He wrapped his other arm around her, and now he held onto her with all of his strength. She felt his hands crawl up her back, messaging her. Without knowing it, she was becoming calmer. The burning fire wasn't important anymore, Katara completely forgot about it. Instead she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck. She lost herself in his comforting touch. As the fire crept even closer, Katara's heart began to beat wildly, her thoughts swam into a pool, and all she could do was think about the person standing there with her.

"Katara… take a risk… take a chance… we can get out of this…"

She wanted to shiver, but she grabbed his back and pulled herself into him. Her breath was short and fast, and his began to do the same. Zuko squeezed her gently and gave her a nudge.

"Zuko… _I can't_… I'm scared!"

"Yes you can… on the count of three, make us go up."

Her eyes shut close as the embers sparked at her. She wanted so badly to be out of this trap. Even with Zuko there, nothing was going to help them. He had created something that was uncontrollable.

"How? _I can't_…"

He spoke firmly this time. Zuko realized that they needed to act quickly.

"Yes you can. Katara you have to!"

She gulped and buried her hands into his shoulders. His arms were still holding onto her protectively, but the blazing heat of the fire was weakening Katara.

"_One_…"

How on earth was she supposed to get them to go up?

"_Two_…"

There was nothing she could do.

"Three!"

Just as the fire was about to wrap around the couple, Katara and Zuko sprang upwards on a circular platform. The whole time, Katara concentrated and didn't let go of Zuko. The fire spun around the ice, and it quickly began to melt, causing steam to rise and melt away the rest of the pillar. Katara and Zuko plummeted to the ground, where there was only a little pile of snow. She still clutched her hands onto his parka as if she were still in danger. Suddenly Zuko laughed.

Anger boiled in Katara, and she let go of him immediately. She sat up next to him. Zuko was clutching his side and his laughter sent a ring through her ears.

"How could you _do _that?" she yelled furiously.

Zuko calmed down and smiled up at her.

"Wasn't that exciting?"

She stared at him with wide eyes. Exciting? Just barely escaping massive burns, almost dying… Katara cracked a smile. He had in fact tested her ability to concentrate; he wasn't trying to hurt her. And now that she thought about it, the whole experience was in fact the most thrilling thing she had to go through possibly in her entire life. She was on the edge of her fear, and he had helped her through it all. She let out a joyous laugh and he smiled. Her eyes caught his, and she leaned into him. Her gaze focused in on his soft smile, and then up towards his golden eyes. She caressed his face with her hand and he closed his eyes.

"Katara… you are simply amazing…"

She kissed his neck softly, and he inhaled sharply.

"You are so talented…"

She kissed his cheek.

"You are so beautiful…"

She kissed his forehead.

"You are like no one else… that I've ever met…"

Now, she stared at him and his face had turned serious. Zuko picked up his head, and pulled hers into his. Their lips touched and this time, Katara let herself free. She kissed him with so much passion that her breath started to form little puffs of steam. Zuko was amazed at her display of affection and he began to melt the snow around him. He started to kiss her neck slowly, going upwards, and Katara let out a soft moan and clung onto him even tighter. Zuko kissed her again, and this time he let out all of his feelings for her. All of this was so exhilarating to Katara, she didn't know what was happening to her, but it felt wonderful.

Suddenly a gong resounded and Katara pulled away from him. He sat up and sighed.

"I have to go Zuko. Oh wait… _we_ have to go."

She smiled at him as he stood up next to her. He looked at his surroundings and smiled softly.

"Do we really have to go? This place is so incredible, especially when _you're_ here."

He brought her in close and hissed into her ear with his tongue. She squirmed and laughed.

"Pleeeasssee Kattarraaa… letssss stayyy herreeee…"

She laughed and pushed him away but he caught one of her arms.

"No Zuko… we _have_ to go. Right now! Okay, I'll make a deal. We can come back _after _dinner. Sounds good?"

He let go of Katara's arm, but she thought about it, and decided to run back to him. She wrapped her arms around him, and gave him another long, sinful kiss. When she pulled away, Zuko gasped for air, and watched as she skipped along the room. His eyes looked at her with longing. Why did they have to leave? He loved this side of Katara so much… wait, did he just say loved? Zuko shook his head. How could he possibly love a person he barely knew? Well… he _had_ gotten to know her for the past few days…

Yue heard the gong ring and sighed. She had to go to dinner now, where she would have to see Zuko with Katara again. Her bodyguard immediately came up to her to be her escort, but he wasn't the least bit attractive. He was old and had a messy beard. He even smelled like rotten eggs. She rolled her eyes as they began to make their way down to dinner.

Zuko began to walk up to Katara. She was still walking around, waiting for him to get her. When did she become so carefree? It didn't matter. He was about to walk up to her, because she stopped under a huge canopy of snow. For some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. It looked like… it was dripping, but still… Zuko's expression went ghostly while Katara just simply laughed.

"What's wrong Zuko? Got something _frozen_ in your pants?"

Katara clutched her side while she howled with laughter. Zuko wasn't laughing though. At any moment that canopy of snow was going to fall down on top of her and kill her by the impact. It was huge and Zuko couldn't help but think about the worst thing that could happen.

"Katara! Get _out_ from there!"

"What? Zuko you've gone mad! What's wrong with this?"

She looked up and saw the snow dripping. Unfortunately, she couldn't make anything out of it like Zuko had. Suddenly, a figure popped in the doorway. Zuko's stomach completely dropped down. It was Yue.

"What are you two…"

"Katara! I said, get out of there!"

She seemed angry and so she crossed her arms and pouted.

"I'm not going! No one has to make me go anywhere! Zuko, why don't you come here? It's really nice and all, in the shade…"

She heard a creak from up above and her face went rigid. Zuko looked over at Yue, and then back to Katara. He became solemn; he knew what he had to do. Katara looked panicked and she knew she couldn't use her water bending, or else Yue would tell on her. Then she saw Zuko; Katara gasped as he stepped forward and shot fire at the falling canopy. His fire barely missed Katara, but because it was so close, it evaporated all of the snow that was about to fall on top of her. Katara's heart raced and she caught her breath as she looked at the pile of snow around her on her sides. She gulped. The pile was as tall as she was.

Zuko ran to Katara and she hugged him tightly, trying to hold back the tears and to be strong. Yue just went completely white and her eyes popped out, her mouth wide open. Zuko caressed Katara in his arms and she saw him whisper something, and she whispered something back. Then Katara nodded, and Zuko helped her over the pile of snow, this time evaporating most of the snow around them.

As they approached the door where Yue stood, their expressions turned solemn.

"You! I… I… You! But… no!"

Katara stood there annoyed.

"Yue, do you know that you're making no sense whatsoever?"

At this, Yue brought herself out of the state of shock she was in.

"You, Katara, have been fooled by this… this fire bender! He tried to_ kill_ you! And you stand there _hugging_ him?"

Of course, deep down inside, Yue wished she were the one hugging Zuko. But that was just because Katara had him, and she didn't. Zuko approached Yue with open arms, and she leaned away near her… bodyguard. Zuko gasped as the bodyguard snarled at him, and immediately took his hands around his back. Katara ran to Zuko, but he looked at her and shook his head. Tears ran from her eyes, down her cheek, as she heard what Yue said next.

"Tell my father that he in fact _is_ a fire bender, and that he tried to kill my _dear_ sister. Have him killed."

As the guard took Zuko away, Katara stood in front of Yue, biting her lip while the tears flowed.

"Oh Katara, don't be sad! I'm doing you a_ favor_! You will thank me one day; that man is nothing but a stinky, _horrible_, low life, fire nation scum!"

Katara's eyes popped out enraged. Yue closed her eyes and smirked, but that expression was wiped off of her face with a blow from Katara's hand. Katara now stood there smirking while wiping away the tears, as Yue held her reddened cheek with her hands.

"How… how… how _dare_ you! Slap your own…"

Too late, Katara was already running down the hall after Zuko.

..:-:..

Of course she had been right; Katara followed her instincts right into the Great Room. Everyone was gathered there again, and she gasped when she saw Zuko kneeling before her father. The next thing she heard made her heart stop.

"I hereby sentence you to immediate execution! Men!"

Zuko bit back his tears. He didn't want this to happen… who would? He braced himself for what was to come of him… and then he heard his angel come to his rescue.

"Father! Father, stop!"

Katara ran through the crowd of people all the way up to Zuko. She put her arms around him protectively and Nasu raised his eyebrow curiously. She checked with Zuko to see if he was okay and he nodded.

"Katara… what is the meaning of this? Why are you _protecting_ him? He tried to kill you!"

"No father!" she stood up now, "he didn't! A large canopy of snow was about to fall down on me, and he shot the fire at_ it_, not _me_! Father, Zuko _saved_ me! If anything you should be _thanking_ him, not sentencing him to death!"

Nasu looked a bit shocked to find out that a fire bender saved his daughter. But nonetheless, he was still from the fire nation, and he lied about it. He was a liar, a traitor and a spy.

"I'm sorry Katara, but even though I do thank him for saving your life, he still lied to us all, to you as well! I can't have someone like him, a person from the fire nation, live among us! Therefore the sentencing still stands!"

Katara gasped and her eyes began to water. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"No… no… you can't… father… _please_!"

Nasu pushed Katara out of the way, but she clung to his side.

"Father, you can't kill him! Look! Even now he isn't doing anything, when he could surely just use his bending to get out of the ropes! Zuko respects you father, and he won't hurt anyone! Not you… not me… not anyone! Father… you can't do this!"

Nasu held up a hand to the men, who were ready to throw the spears into Zuko's back. He faced Katara, wiped away her tears, and sighed. He gave her a weak smile, but it was worn out from all of the close calls and such. Katara looked up at her father expectantly.

"Katara, I do see your point," he then faced Zuko, "young man, you indeed have not tried to escape. Why is that?"

Zuko looked up from the ground soberly.

"Sir, I do not believe in violence. Yes, I am from the fire nation, but I lied about it so that you wouldn't kill me right then. I wanted the chance to prove my alliance with you. I do not condone what my uncle has done in anyway…"

Nasu looked at him seriously. Katara gasped knowing what Zuko was saying.

"Your uncle… who is your uncle?"

"My uncle is… the fire lord."

Gasps came from every corner of the room, and Nasu stumbled back a bit.

"This is an outrage!"

"He must die!"

"I can't believe we were so fooled!"

Everyone's chit chattering was deafening and Nasu couldn't handle it anymore.

"_Quiet!_"

His voice echoed in the room and the silence came over the people.

"I will not have any of this from any of you! This man has just admitted that he is fire nation royalty, in front of the water tribe's members, knowing perfectly well how each of you would react! I find this to be the bravest thing he has done while he has spent his time here. I know that I would probably not have had the courage to do what he has done. For this, and because of his promise to ally himself with us, I set him free."

Many people gasped as the chains were taken off of his arms and legs. Zuko stood up, and Nasu shook his hand.

"I'm very glad you have chosen to be on our side."

"I am very thankful sir for you giving me my life. I am forever grateful to you."

Nasu nodded, and then motioned for Katara to come over to them. She did so with radiance and happiness inside of her, although she made sure not to show it so much.

"I want you to continue to protect my daughter. I see that you have been very capable of that up until now, and I'm sure you will be able to do this still."

"Yes sir. I will make sure she is safe."

"Oh, Katara. Will you come with me? Zuko… you can wait for her outside my door."

Once again, she was led into her father's secret room leading from the Great Room. Inside, she was very surprised to see someone familiar. He walked up to her, took her hand, and kissed it.

"Hello Katara. It is _very_ nice to see you again."

She gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"Likewise Haan."

He stood next to her while Nasu sat down in his chair. Her father smiled at her broadly and Katara got a sickening feeling in her stomach.

"Katara, I… well, _we_ have some very good news for you. Go ahead Haan."

She turned towards him and he smirked at her. Oh how _charming_ he was. She wanted to throw up right then and there. Haan took something out from his pocket and she looked at his hand worriedly. When she saw the black ribbon and blue pendant, everything in her collapsed. Her knees gave away, and Haan had to catch her in his arms. He seemed pleased to have done that. Haan helped her stand up and then he offered her the necklace.

"Katara, I would be _honored_ if you would become my wife."

She looked at her father and he smiled sweetly. Katara looked back at Haan, and while holding back all of the tears, she nodded her head and gave him a fake smile. She slightly cringed as he tied the necklace around her neck. Then Haan kissed her cheek and those disgusting shivers went up and down her spine. She pulled away, and Nasu laughed.

"My Katara, you are sixteen now! There is no shame in showing your feelings!"

At once she thought about Zuko. He was standing outside the door, and he didn't even know what just happened. Sadness crept into her heart.

"Father… Haan, may I please be excused? I'm awfully tired."

They nodded and she left the room. Zuko saw her and immediately his face lit up. He grabbed her and squeezed her so hard she felt like she was going to pop.

"Katara! Oh Katara… you saved me! You saved me again…"

He gave her a long adoring kiss, and she pulled away gasping for air. He smiled brilliantly, and she couldn't help but smile back. Thankfully, everyone in the Great Room had left. She felt so nice to be in Zuko's arms. His embrace was so different than Haan's; her happiness disappeared once again. They began to walk to her room, and Zuko couldn't help but smile the whole time.

"Katara, you have such a way with words! I don't think anyone could have saved me besides you!"

Yue turned the corner and the three of them stopped dead in their tracks. Hearing this, Yue's jaw dropped.

"What? You saved him? He's supposed to be _dead_!"

Katara walked up to her and slapped her again.

"Yue, you are a selfish brat! You have no heart and you are cruel!"

Zuko looked shocked at Katara's words, but he agreed whole-heartedly. Yue's cheeks burned crimson and she ran away. Zuko put an arm around Katara and she smiled.

"That was really great Katara."

"Yeah, it felt really nice to finally get back at her for all the things she has done to me."

They were now in front of her room and they stood in front of one another. Zuko wanted to lean in and give her another kiss, but she turned her head to the right, and he only gave her a kiss on the cheek. He looked confused, and then he noticed the necklace.

"Katara… what exactly did you talk about with your father?"

She felt the tears stinging her eyes. Yue was hiding around the corner, and she was leaning in on every word. Katara's words were choked up in her throat, and Zuko realized she wasn't feeling well. He put her arms around her to comfort her, but she pushed him away.

"Katara! What is wrong with you?"

"Zuko! You see this necklace?"

She began to sob and she started to furiously wipe away her tears.

"It means that I am betrothed!"

Zuko stepped back in shock and everything inside of him sank to the ground. Katara saw this, and immediately ran to him, flung her arms around his neck, and sobbed lightly into his chest.

"I'm sorry Zuko…"

He pushed her away slightly and he tried his best to smile.

"Don't be sorry Katara. I'm happy for you. Really, I am."

Her tears faded away, and she stopped sobbing. Yue snickered and her heart rose up in her chest. How perfect this was! She didn't even have to do anything; they were separated! Gleefully, she ran away to find Sokka.

"Zuko… are you okay?"

She was in the doorway to her room now, and the doors were open. Zuko forcefully nodded his head and smiled weakly.

"Of course, I'm fine."

He stepped towards her, and was going to give her a kiss, but realized he couldn't. So instead, he just kissed her lightly on the cheek and stepped back. As the doors closed, Katara put a hand to her face on the spot where she felt his lips graze her skin. New tears emerged and she sank down to the floor. What had happened to her? Why was she so empty inside now? So what if she wasn't able to kiss Zuko… or to be with him so often as before…

She breathed in painfully and clung to her heart.

"Because I love him…"

..:-:..

Zuko slammed the door to his room. He walked in and punched the walls, the doors and anything that wouldn't break if he did. Then he sat down on the bed and then laid down on it. He stared up at the ceiling, reliving that day. He had been so happy to be with her… she was amazing, and beautiful. Her touch made him feel like he was in nirvana. And now, she had a fiancé. It hurt him so much inside, like someone ripped out his heart. Why was he so hung up on her? She was just a girl… there were millions of girls out there. What was he doing thinking about only one of them? Well for one, he adored her. She was amazing, beautiful… wait, he already realized that. Then why did he think it? He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Because I love her…"

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, Katara and Haan… so very sad, I know! It kills my heart to break them apart… but Monika always has a backup plan lol Please review, I know you probably don't want to or something like that… but it really does help me to know if you like it or not… and I worked very hard to make it enjoyable, so please do tell me! I appreciate everyone who has reviewed so far! You guys are the best!

**Have a great day!**

-Monika-


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Here we go! A mostly anticipated chapter I believe! I haven't named any chapters of any fanfics, but this is an exception, because so many of you had threatened to come find me lol (Just joking!) So this chapter is called…

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Monika's Backup Plan**

_Now the fire wrapped around them. But Katara wasn't the least bit scared anymore. He smiled down at her gently and she tilted her head up to his. She kissed him and the fire vanished. The roaring flames disappeared and he wrapped his arms around her firmly. From behind him, Katara saw her mother standing there. Surprisingly, she was smiling._

Katara woke up with confusion and some anger. Why did that blasted dream keep coming to her, and why did it change each time? Was it telling her something… or was it just some stupid imagination? Well it didn't matter, especially since last night. Her kiss in the dream wasn't real, and that disappointed her a lot. A tear slid down her cheek as she was faced with the reality of the situation. She had to marry Haan; it was what her father wanted, and she had no way out of it.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"I'm coming!"

Katara quickly slipped on a new outfit, and fluffed up her hair so that it looked decent. She nodded at herself in approval, and walked to the door. She sighed, and pulled the doors open. Her face radiated with a morning smile, but when she saw Zuko standing there, the smile disappeared instantly. He looked like he hadn't slept that well last night.

"Good morning Katara…"

"Good morning Zuko…"

They stood there in silence awkwardly. Zuko rubbed the back of his head with his hand and Katara shifted from one foot to the other. They spoke at the same time.

"Will…"

"So…"

The two of them laughed and broke the tension. Katara tilted her head towards him.

"You first."

"So you want to go to breakfast?"

She clung to her stomach and laughed.

"Yeah, we didn't have dinner yesterday! You must be starving too!"

Zuko smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so… didn't really realize it…"

Of course he didn't; he was too busy being overwhelmed with thoughts of Katara. The two of them walked and talked, and soon they were walking side by side, barely any space in between them. Something told Zuko to edge away. It was a good thing he did, because right then, Nasu turned the corner. Zuko bowed.

"Good morning sir."

"Good morning Zuko, Katara. No need to bow."

Zuko stood up straight and nodded. They walked into the room together, the three of them, and Katara glanced at Zuko. He smiled but inside, everything was writhing from torture. He wanted so badly to feel her lips graze his, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. She was engaged; it was a done deal. So he looked away, the faster he got her out of his heart, the faster it would stop hurting him. Katara saw this change in his face and sighed. Her eyes were cried out from the previous night. Now she had to deal with her life. She had to deal with seeing Zuko, and not being able to be with him like before.

"Good morning father!"

Yue bounced into the room with high spirits, followed by Sokka. He seemed to be smirking. Katara raised her eyebrow. What was wrong with them?

"Good morning Yue, Sokka. You two seem to be happy this morning."

"Of course we are."

Yue sat down and shot a smirk towards Katara. She just sent a mean glare back. Yue turned around and whispered to Sokka.

"She doesn't even know yet! She thinks that she is going to have a fun time with her friend…"

"But she will be surprised, won't she?"

Yue nodded happily and Sokka turned to see their welcomed guest arrive. Katara's jaw dropped.

"Haan?" she asked desperately.

He walked in gallantly and smirked, while pushing back his hair.

"The one and only!"

She closed back her mouth but her eyes widened as he put his hands on her shoulders. He pushed Zuko aside, and sat down next to Katara. She was about to protest when Haan looked right at her face.

"I couldn't stop thinking about waking up and seeing your face…"

He talked softly and smoothly; it made Katara's skin crawl. Zuko curled his fists under the table, and looked away. Yue's eyes found his, and he looked up to the ceiling, that way, he would see no one.

"Oh, how nice of you to say Haan…"

He took her hand, and kissed it gently. Katara quickly pulled it away and grabbed her cup of water. She looked away and saw the rest of her family come into the room. When she met her mother's gaze, her eyes widened in annoyance, and her mother seemed to know why. Next to her, Haan was picking at the grapes, leaning against Katara, and plopping them into his mouth.

"Okay, since we are all here, let's eat!"

Breakfast couldn't have felt longer. Every second, it seemed that Haan had found a new way to annoy her, and she wasn't even able to say anything to Zuko. Her heart seemed empty that morning, and it soon became crushed even more.

When everyone left, only Yue, Katara, Zuko and Haan stayed along with Nasu.

"There is going to be a bit of a change. Katara, Zuko, please step forward."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry but I think it would be best if Zuko were now transferred to be Yue's bodyguard."

Katara's eyes popped out and her jaw dropped, but she closed it up quickly. Zuko closed his eyes solemnly and breathed in.

"Haan will be your new bodyguard Katara. That way you can get to know him better. You are all now dismissed. I will see you all right on time for lunch."

Nasu left the room, and Zuko and Katara turned around slowly. Across the room stood their new partners for the day. They each took their steps cautiously, waiting out all the time they could before they were separated from one another. The time slipped by very quickly. Haan grabbed Katara's arm and led her out of the room. She wasn't even able to say a word to Zuko. Yue walked up to Zuko and pranced around him. When he shot her a death glare, her happiness disappeared. He grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her in close to him.

Yue cringed at his harsh soft voice.

"Do you think this is all a joke, a game? It isn't funny, and don't think you are off the hook for what you did…"

He let go of her, but not in time. Katara had gotten away from Haan for a split second, and ran back to the room to say something to Zuko. When she got in there, all she saw was Yue leaned up against Zuko. It broke her heart in two and she ran away from there without saying a word. Yue massaged her wrists and sighed.

"Zuko, I wanted to tell you that I was sorry…"

He chuckled briefly, but didn't smile.

"Like I'm going to believe anything that comes out of _your_ mouth."

She looked taken aback, but she knew she deserved it. Now was her chance to show Zuko that she was just like Katara… and then maybe he would like her more…

"Zuko, I really am sorry. I don't know why I did it. I think I was just jealous…"

He eyed her suspiciously.

"Jealous? Of me? So you had them beat me?"

"No not you… I was… jealous of Katara…"

His expression softened slightly as her eyes began to water. He didn't know that Yue was capable of tears. She walked up slowly towards him and displayed a very good performance of acting. Tears shed from her eyes, and Zuko even put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ever since you came here, everyone's given their attention to Katara! No one cares about me! No one! And especially not you… and now Katara's engaged…"

The last part stung at Zuko's heart. He didn't want to face it, the reality of his life. But she was right. He had spent his whole time with Katara, and now he was weak and broken because he couldn't be with her. It was time to move on. Zuko's eyes widened as he felt Yue's arms wrap around his waist. He desperately wished that it was Katara with him, but he shook his head. He could never be with Katara. Maybe he would give Yue another chance.

"It's… it's okay Yue…"

Her sobs stopped and she looked at him bewildered. It had worked?

"Oh Zuko! Thank you for understanding! I couldn't live with myself if you didn't forgive me!"

She hugged him even tighter, and he had to push her away or else he wouldn't be able to breathe. Yue flashed him her nicest smile and they walked out of the room. Zuko sighed. It was going to be a long day.

..:-:..

Katara ran out and unfortunately bumped right into Haan, and his arms wrapped around her confidently. It was like he thought she liked it when he did that. He saw the tears in her eyes, and immediately became _concerned._

"Katara! What happened?"

She was about to open her mouth to say something, when he pushed her head into his chest. He began to stroke her head and shush her. Her facial expression was of the utmost hatred.

"Don't cry… don't cry… everything will be just fine… as long as you're with _me_."

That was it. Katara pushed him away forcefully and breathed deeply. He was caught by surprise, and tumbled backwards towards the wall. Each time she spoke a new word, she stepped closer and closer towards him.

"Just because I am supposed to be your bride and all, doesn't mean you get to spin me around your finger! I'm an independent woman and no one tells me what to do. Nor can they push me around, belittle me, or in any way treat me like I am on object!"

She was up in his face now, and he stood firmly against the wall.

"_Understood?_"

Katara stepped away and crossed her arms. Haan loosened up and nodded.

"Yes ma'am!"

All the anger in her disappeared as she saw him salute her off. She laughed out loud and he smiled. Surprisingly, he took her by the hand and they walked down the hall together. Somehow, she didn't realize it.

They had gone on the boat tour of the city like Katara had done with Zuko the day before. This saddened her very much, but it was one of her duties, and now that Haan was her fiancé, she had to do with him. When they got off the boat, Katara quickly walked away. Haan had to run up to her.

"Hey, what did you walk away so fast for?"

She turned back at him crossly. He backed off remembering her earlier speech. They heard the gong ring and Katara rolled her eyes. It was off to lunch again… why did it seem like her whole life was based around the three meals of the day? Oh wait… she would get to see Zuko! Her face lit up, but then she remembered how close Yue had been with Zuko. Her smile vanished, and a frown appeared just as quickly as the smile had appeared. Katara began to walk towards the room, but Haan grabbed her hand.

"Katara, where are you going? Didn't your father tell you? We are announcing our marriage in the Great Room for lunch today."

Her eyes bulged. Why did things like this happen all the time?

He dragged her into it and when she got there, she was amazed. Everything was decorated superbly. There were streamers everywhere and the waterfall seemed to gleam with beauty as it fell to the pond. Her father greeted them warmly, and all she could do was hug him. Nasu seemed shocked, but pleased that she was happy. A week ago, she would have never dreamed her father would be so loving towards her. Now she thought it was possible he loved her more than Yue. Where was she anyways?

She stopped dead in her tracks and Haan had to pull her towards the table. The sight hurt her even more; Zuko and Yue were laughing with one another. How could that be?

Zuko chuckled slightly at Yue's impression of a lemur. For some reason, he did laugh, he didn't understand why though. Then he saw Katara, and she was with Haan, walking hand in hand. He became somewhat angry; she sure did change her feelings rather quickly. Then he softened; it wasn't her fault she had to marry him. Yue tugged on his sleeve and pointed at some kids in the distance. He smiled weakly, but always kept trying to see what Katara was doing with Haan.

Ironically, the same thing was happening with her. Each second she got free, she would glance over to Zuko on the other side of the table to see what Yue was doing with him. Sadly he seemed actually interested in what she was saying. That was it; she had had enough. She would no longer have her thoughts wound up around Zuko; she _was_ going to marry Haan, so she better had started to think about him instead.

"Attention everyone! We have gathered you here today for a very exciting announcement! And it does not involve anything catastrophic or serious in fact. As it so happens, you were all invited here for a celebratory feast for my daughter, Katara. She and Haan, are soon to be wed!"

Haan stood up immediately and had to get Katara to stand up. The crowd cheered and roared with applause and Katara shifted uneasily as Haan wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She caught Zuko glancing at her, and when she did, he turned away abruptly. Katara huffed angrily and turned her attention towards the crowd. After a while, they sat back down.

"And now, enjoy the feast!"

Katara ate silently, only nodding and responding to Haan when she was forced to. After she had finished eating, she got up while she made sure Haan was focused on his food. She slipped into the crowd where she was caught by her favorite group of children.

Zuko apparently had had enough of Yue's bad jokes, and so he slipped away unnoticed. He heard children laughing, and though it was familiar, so he walked through the crowd towards it. Suddenly he froze on the spot, when he bumped into Katara.

"Oh…"

"Yeah… um…"

"Zuko! Katara! Play with us!"

The children surrounded them at their knees and pushed the two closer together. Katara felt the heat rise in her cheeks, as did Zuko. She was so beautiful up close… Zuko shoved the thought out of his head and he backed away from the group. He laughed soulfully as a child tried to climb up on him.

"Sorry kids, but I'm not giving you any piggy back rides today!"

"Yes, I can't either."

The two looked up at each other, but quickly glanced away. One of the kids however, took each of their arms and pulled them close in together again.

"But please! We love playing with you!"

"Yeah! Zuko's the coolest!"

"Katara, you don't like us anymore?"

Her head swam with all of their voices and she began to feel faint. Suddenly, it appeared that an even bigger crowd was coming into the Great Room. Katara grabbed her head as pain shot up through it. Zuko held her up by her arm. He was worried, no doubt about that. The kids' attention was distracted as a circus troop marched in playing drums of all sorts. Katara winced in even more pain, and Zuko couldn't just leave her like that. So he took her by the arm, and led her through the crowd, until they were at the room's exit door.

"Zuko… what are you…"

But she couldn't finish her sentence, because at that moment she fainted. Zuko picked her up in his arms, and carried her out of the loud and busy room. When he shut the door behind them, he already felt better. He too had been beginning to feel light headed. Then a thought came to him, or rather something a person once said to him. Katara had said she came to the spiritual place to rest, and clear her mind whenever she felt bad. So all he had to do was take her there, and everything would be fine again.

It took Zuko a while to find it. He wasn't too familiar with the palace yet, but nonetheless, he had figured out where to go. They stepped through the small door, and once inside, Zuko felt renewed. The warm air filled his lungs and everything in him sprang to life. He felt Katara stirring in his arms, so he walked over to the pond and laid her down there. There was a small rock, so he put that under her head so that she was elevated slightly. After a while, he saw her eyes flutter open. She moaned and seemed to still feel a bit light headed.

"Where… where am I?"

She saw Zuko's worried face above her, and Katara smiled.

"Shh… don't move too much… I brought you to your favorite place… away from everyone…"

He helped her sit up and she looked around. There was the lulling sound of the water, and the warmth of the setting sun on her face. The grass felt prickly under her hands, but it felt livening. She smiled fondly.

"How did you know where to take me?"

"It was easy; I just remembered what you said…"

"Oh, so you actually had been listening to me?"

She said this playfully. Now that she was alone with Zuko again, and no one else was there, she felt more apt to be friendly with him. He stroked her hair and smiled.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, but then frowned. Zuko saw her necklace and then recalled his hand. Katara bit her lip so that the tears wouldn't fall from her eyes. Her heart was screaming at her; why wasn't she following her true emotions? Why was she letting someone who she hated become her lifetime partner? She shook the tears away, and the looked at Zuko fiercely. He sensed something was different in her; he saw a longing in her eyes, and he felt it too. Suddenly, Katara reached out towards him, and he let her pull him in close. They began to lean in their heads but a noise caught them off guard, and they separated instantly.

Haan and Yue burst into the clearing. Each had wide eyes as they saw that Zuko and Katara were actually there together. Haan seemed even angrier than Yue did. He marched right up to Katara and pulled her into a hug. He looked at Zuko eyeing him. Katara tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge.

"Oh Katara, I thought that he had hurt you!"

"But,"

"Zuko! Why did you leave me? I thought you were going to go do something…"

"I,"

"Katara, you must have been so scared! I'm here now though…"

"Zuko, you look so tired out! What's wrong? Do you need some water?"

"Katara…"

"Zuko…"

Each of them couldn't take the babbling any longer and Zuko roared a flame into the open air. Everyone except Katara seemed scared. She smiled as Haan's arms left her and he backed away with Yue. Suddenly, Katara laughed. It was rather funny to see the two of them together; they would be perfect for one another. Yue got a hold of herself quickly and walked back to Zuko. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The two of you need to stop babbling over us like we are a couple of babies."

"Yeah, Zuko's right. All that happened was, I fainted and Zuko brought me here. I'm fine now."

At that response, Haan rushed up to Katara to see if she was okay, checking her forehead with her hand, and pushing her down so she was sitting on the ground at rest. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Haan, do you remember what I said, or do I have to repeat myself?"

He looked at her and shushed her with his finger to his mouth.

"I remember, you don't have to say it out loud again!"

She smirked. It was so fun torturing him and his ego.

Yue saw the interaction between them and smiled. She didn't even have to do anything, Haan was already fitting in with Katara perfectly, like a sculpture. So she decided to go to Zuko. His eyes widened as Yue began to message his back. Katara saw this and then looked away. She had once again been fooled into thinking that she could somehow whisk away with Zuko. It wasn't going to happen. Why couldn't she realize that?

"Oh man," Haan grabbed his stomach, "I'm so hungry!"

Katara let out a howl of laughter. Zuko eyed him curiously. No one was that hungry. He had just eaten! What was he playing at? A smile crept onto Haan's face and inside Zuko flamed with fury. He was only trying to make it seem like a joke, so Katara would warm up to him. Fine, he would play along with Haan's game. Zuko's gaze shifted towards the pond. There were two fish swimming in circles around each other. Perfect.

"Hey Haan!"

He was helping Katara stand up and they walked over to Zuko and Yue. Katara looked at Zuko's smile with an awkward feeling. Up above the moon began to spread its light onto the pond and it reflected brightly. What was Zuko getting at? He had only smiled at _her_ before.

"Are you really that hungry?"

Katara looked up at Haan, and since he saw her do this, Haan nodded dramatically. He bent down and acted to be starved.

"Yeah I am! There is no way I'm going to make it…"

He was really getting into the act as Katara began to laugh. Yue joined in, and they didn't notice Zuko step away. Katara just thought he was being dumb, it was the only reason she was laughing. Finally she turned her attention back to Zuko. What was he…

"All right Haan, here's your food, coming right up!"

Zuko pulled his arm back, and then aimed a shot of fire right into the pond. Katara's and Yue's eyes went wide, and their mouths split open. For a split second, it really did seem like they were sisters. They were each rocked to the pit of their stomachs, and a deep foreboding feeling came upon them. Haan however, looked delighted. He reached out towards Zuko who held the dead fish in his hands. Zuko gave it to him joyously, getting a laugh out of Haan. He was practically drooling over his new dinner. When Zuko got to Katara and Yue however, he stopped dead. Each had tears in their eyes and then he saw how bright Yue's blue eyes shone. Then it hit him; it was dark everywhere. In the sky, there was no moon. Katara's hateful, yet sorrowful look killed him inside. What had he done that was so wrong?

"Zuko… _how could you?_"

He reached out to Katara, but she tugged away. The tears ran down her cheeks, and Yue cradled her sister. Zuko looked at this scene bewilderment in his eyes. He knew that _something _had happened for Yue to be hugging Katara, and no fight resulting from it. Yue looked up at Zuko gravely while she caressed her sister in her arms.

"What did I do?" he asked softly.

Yue's blue eyes now haunted him. They quavered in place and tears ran down her cheeks as well.

"You killed the moon spirit…"

Zuko looked absolutely distraught.

"No… no, it's not possible!"

Hearing this, Haan dropped the fish right onto the ground. To think he was about to eat it. Zuko couldn't find the words in his throat. There was nothing that could have prevented that from happening was there? He tried to reach out towards Katara, but Yue shoved her away from him.

"I'm not letting you anywhere near her! Get away! You killed the only thing that has kept my tribe alive! You are a monster!"

Zuko shook his head defiantly.

"No, I'm not! I didn't know it was the moon spirit… that oaf just said that he was hungry so I thought I would give him some food. I_ swear_ I didn't know!"

Katara was now kneeling on the ground rocking back and forth. Zuko pushed Yue away, and his arms found themselves wrapped around Katara, even though she lightly pushed him away. Of course she had heard him, so she gave into his embrace. She sobbed lightly into his shoulder, and he messaged her back. Yue couldn't believe what was going on. In the background was a whimpering Haan, in front of her was a betrayal that was going to go down in the history books, and the whole world was missing a moon.

Katara lifted her head up slightly to his ear, and whispered only as much as she could.

"Zuko… I can't water bend anymore… I can't…"

Tears overwhelmed her again, and Zuko just cradled her even more.

"I'm sorry Katara… I'm so sorry…"

Yue closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn't hear what Katara had said, but she saw enough to know how Zuko really did feel about her. It was too much for her; Yue felt like she was going to explode, everything was happening to quickly, and it was all so unfair. She was the elder, and then when she tried to make things right with Zuko and Katara, they left her aside. She was frustrated to no end, and stomped away. The glint of the white fish caught her eye and she picked it up angrily. But before she could throw it into the pond of water, something happened.

Everyone turned to look at the white light radiating from Yue's hands. Yue herself had no idea what was happening and she was just as shocked to see it happen. Everything in her body seemed to be becoming drained. All of a sudden she lost all feeling inside of her, and she fell to the ground, with the fish falling out and jumping into the pond. Katara's eyes widened and Zuko gaped. Haan was so overcome with what he had just witnessed, that he too fainted on the spot.

"Yue!"

She shot up and ran over to her sister. Katara quickly picked up her sister's wrist and hoped that she would feel it, any kind of heartbeat. Yue's hand slipped out of Katara's, and she looked away to Zuko. She shook her head sadly and he knelt down to comfort her again. Katara let Zuko do that, and she gladly wrapped her arms around him. This was just too confusing to be true. Yue couldn't have died just like that because she had touched a fish. It wasn't possible.

But it was. After a few minutes, Yue's body vanished, and she appeared from a radiating glow that came out of the pond. She was smiling and Katara couldn't help but smile too.

"Yue… what happened?"

"Katara, listen carefully. Tell Sokka that I will miss him, but that I will always be with him. Tell father that he shouldn't blame anyone for this happening; it was my doing. And most of all, I want to tell you that… I'm sorry…"

Katara reached out towards her sister, but Yue soared up towards the sky and soon, she saw the moon again. I'm sorry… she had apologized. And now she was gone. Katara was too overwhelmed with everything and fell into Zuko's arms.

"Zuko… is this real, or am I dreaming?"

Before he could answer her, Nasu stormed into the clearing followed by dozens of guards. He looked from the limp form of Haan, to Zuko holding Katara. She stood up immediately along with Zuko, but Nasu pushed him to the side, and stood right up to Katara. His stare was lethal, and it frightened Katara to her core. Behind them, Zuko was being tied back by four guards.

"Where is Yue?" Nasu hissed.

Katara wasn't ready to tell him. But she had to.

"Father, there is no easy way to tell you this. She wanted me to tell you that you shouldn't blame anyone for it, and to tell Sokka that she would always be with him, and that she was sorry."

"I asked you to tell me where she is!"

She trembled and started to cry.

"Father… father, she's up there… she's now the moon…"

His eyes quavered and he gasped.

"What? No… no! You are lying!"

"Father, I'm not lying! She touched the moon spirit and…"

"What are you speaking of? Tell me exactly what happened!"

"Zuko burned the fish, which is the moon spirit, so that Haan could eat but…"

Nasu gritted his teeth and turned towards Zuko.

"Guards take him away and prepare for execution! Now!"

Katara ran towards her father and pulled on his sleeves.

"No! Father you can't! You can't blame him for this! Yue said not to blame anyone!"

He shoved her to the ground and looked at her with an empty hollow in his eyes. He was not her father anymore. Nasu was a bitter man, with a bare heart.

"You protect him now, and you have protected him then. You are no daughter of mine. Guards, take her as well."

Her eyes widened and she felt numb inside. Katara felt the guards' strong hands grab her arms and lead her away right after Zuko. They were gone, and Nasu looked up to the sky where the moon shone brightly.

"I'm so sorry my dear Yue, I am so sorry… I knew this day would come… but I didn't know it would be so soon…"

Haan began to stir and looked up at Nasu.

"Huh? Why are you sorry? Did you do something to me?"

Nasu just kicked his head slightly and Haan went back into unconsciousness.

..:-:..

Katara winced as she was thrown into the dark cell along with Zuko. She stumbled to the ground and landed on her knees and hands. Zuko helped her up, but she turned from him bitterly. She had been so stupid; her father was right. Since he had come, she had taken Zuko's side on everything. Now she was in the cell, a traitor to the water tribe, a princess no longer.

"Katara…"

Zuko looked at the dim outline of the back of her head sadly. Such a little thing had turned into the biggest mistake of his life. They sat opposite each other on different sides of the cell. Katara wanted nothing to do with him anymore; he had hurt her too much. Zuko felt horrible inside, and he didn't know what to do. She wouldn't talk to him, and if he used his fire bending, she would surely yell for the guards to come. Zuko heard Katara shiver and he felt even guiltier. He shifted slowly towards her, and sat next to her. She was cold in the cell, but she didn't want Zuko anywhere near her. Did she though?

Zuko found himself relieved when she didn't push him away. Maybe he should try to make some conversation?

"Katara… please just listen to me… you don't have to say anything."

He finally saw her wonderfully beautiful blue eyes on his. Zuko breathed in deeply.

"I know you are angry with me, and you have every right to be. But I just hoped I didn't have to spend my last moments alive like this, with you hating my guts."

Something snapped in Katara and she had to bite her lip in order to not cry again. She had only been thinking about herself; she had completely forgotten that Zuko was going to be executed. Her father's words haunted her thoughts, and she closed her eyes. She whimpered and Zuko took the initiative. He took her into his arms, and she let him. Katara buried her face into his chest and clung onto him tightly.

"I'm sorry Zuko… I was only thinking about myself."

"It's all right," a small smile graced his lips.

She looked up at him, and she could see a faint glimmer of gold, which were his eyes. Her hands reached and felt their way along his face. Then she felt his soft lips braze her skin. She leaned her head up, and kissed him affectionately. Zuko caressed her back and wandered amazingly through her kiss. A soft moan escaped his throat as she bit the bottom of his lips playfully. After a while, the two just held onto each other lovingly. Time was slipping by so quickly and soon it would all be over. A tear escaped Katara's eyes.

"Zuko… I don't know if I can live without you…"

He looked deeply into her eyes and it stung his heart painfully. Zuko knew the best thing to do; he wouldn't let her live on in heartache. So he pushed her away.

"Katara, you are just going to have to deal with it."

She looked at him completely shocked. Zuko turned away so she wouldn't see the tears fall down his cheeks. It was so hard to tell her that, and he knew it was hurting her. Katara just sat there in silence, dumbstruck. And that's how the next couple of hours lasted. They sat in silence, knowing that the end was coming closer. Katara just tried to push it out of her mind, but Zuko couldn't. He was trying to remember every single moment he had shared with Katara. It was all going to come to an end.

Suddenly, both of them shot up and looked at each other. Each had heard the creaking of the door. Then there were slow footsteps trotting down the hall towards their cell. Katara's heartbeat quickened as did Zuko's. At any moment, the guard would come take Zuko away, and she would never see him again.

Finally, the footsteps stopped, and they heard the key turn in the door. Katara started to breathe rapidly and Zuko just tried to calm himself down. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It would be quick, and then he wouldn't have to remember any pain at all, except for that of missing Katara.

When she walked into the cell, Katara almost fainted. Shira came in with a lantern and smiled at the two of them.

"Mom!"

Katara ran up to her joyously and Shira hugged her daughter tightly. Zuko sat there stunned to see no guard at all.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Shh… don't be so loud Katara. First of all, I came to tell you that both of you are to be sentenced to immediate death at sunrise."

Katara stepped back. Her father wanted her dead as well? Every bit of caring thought for the man escaped through her body at lightening speed.

"But that is no problem."

Zuko stood up now and looked at the woman's eyes with sad disdain.

"How can you say that? Both I and Katara are going to hang at sunrise, and you say there is no problem?"

Shira put a hand on Zuko's shoulder and smiled.

"Yes Zuko, there is no problem at all."

"Mom, I agree with Zuko, how can you say that?"

Shira walked over to the back wall of the cell and put a hand on it. Before she turned towards it, she smiled warmly and said, "Because you won't be here."

Suddenly the wall disappeared as Shira concentrated and pushed it away. Both Zuko and Katara stood there stunned. Shira simply nodded, admiring her work.

"Mom! How did you do that?"

"What do you mean? You didn't know?"

Katara looked at her mother curiously.

"Didn't know what?"

"Well, you had to get your talent from somebody. I got it from my father, and you got it from me."

Realization flooded Katara and she became overwhelmed with a sad joy.

"You're a water bender too?"

"Of course, but you didn't know… and neither does your father…"

Katara ran up to her mother and gave her a tight hug.

"I love you so much mother."

Shira closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I love you too Katara. I always will."

Katara stepped back and saw that Shira had brought something with her. She gave it to Zuko who strapped it on his back.

"You two will need these. The tunnel will lead you to the tundra. I believe it is the only way to hide before you can travel out to the sea."

"But mom, they will figure out that you helped us!"

"No they won't. All I did was come to check up on you two, and saw that you were asleep, so I left."

Shira gave her daughter a small wink and a laugh, and Katara did as well. Shira pushed her daughter and Zuko towards the tunnel.

"Zuko, promise me that you will take the utmost care of my daughter. I am trusting you with her life."

Zuko nodded and bowed.

"I will. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving our lives. I will never forget your kindness."

"It is no problem at all. Oh, and you can use your fire bending to light up the tunnel. There are old torches in it I believe."

Katara stood there next to Zuko, facing her mother. Shira waved, forcing a smile onto her face. Katara became overwhelmed with tears and Zuko gripped her shoulder tightly. She bit her lip, and saw the wall reappear, a flicker of her mother's face gone forever.

Shira let down her hands and made sure that the wall looked like it hadn't been touched whatsoever. Then she fell to the floor and cried. Her voice was only a hushed whisper.

"Katara… please be careful... I guess I could never pull you away from the fire… could I?"

She stood up and walked out of the cell. The door creaked open, and then creaked close.

"How are the prisoners?"

"They were sleeping. I just lingered a while to see my daughter's peaceful face. Goodnight gentlemen."

The guards bowed, and Shira disappeared quietly up the staircase.

* * *

**A/N:** Shocked? Surprised? I'd love to know! I like how this fic is coming so far… only like two or three chapters left to go!

**Have a great day everyone!**

-Monika-


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Wow… I'm _so_ sorry for the long wait! I can't believe it's been so long! But here is chapter 9! (just to let you know, it's gonna get really fluffy lol)

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Zuko found one of the old torches Shira had told them about, and he put a small flame into it, so that it lit up the rest of the tunnel, or whatever the light was able to reach. Katara walked next to him silently; she was having an inner battle about leaving her home, escaping and never seeing her mother again. Zuko knew what it felt like; he had done it as well. She edged away from him, and her eyes wouldn't look anywhere near him. Was she blaming him for this? She probably was…

"It's the only way we can live Katara…"

His voice made her jump slightly and she finally looked at him, the shadows of the burning torch flickering over his face and along the walls. Who was he really? Did she know anything about him truly? Only a week ago she had met him, and somehow grown fond of him, so much in fact that she risked her life for his. And now she was running away from her home because of it. Anger swelled up in her chest and she pounded her fists to her side.

"The only way? The only way this wouldn't be happening is if I had never met you!"

Her echoes replayed on down the rest of the tunnel, and Zuko stopped. His eyes seemed full of hurt, and he looked away from her. Katara regained her breath and slowly calmed down. She bit her lip and found herself rerunning her own words in her mind. Was it really true that she had never wanted to meet him? No, it wasn't.

"Zuko… I,"

She reached out to him, but Zuko walked on past her, and up ahead towards the tunnel.

"Come on. We have to find a way out of here."

His voice was harsh and bitter. It was like he had transformed into a different person. Katara felt like crying, but her face was dry. She had cried enough. Instead, she took it all in, and knew she deserved it. So she followed Zuko's orange glow, as their surroundings got more and more rough. She would have to look down all the time to make sure she didn't trip over a pile of snow, or slide on a sheet of ice. The icicles above them were also a danger, so she made sure not to say anything that could anger Zuko, not until they finally reached the end of the tunnel.

"Is this the end?"

"Of course this is the end! What kind of question is that?"

Zuko's powerful voice made Katara tremble and all too late he realized what kind of a monster he was becoming, just because of something a girl said to him. That girl was Katara though, and Zuko's heart bled inside to know how she really felt about him. His gaze shifted though, from her eyes to the masses up above them. They couldn't really make out what was up there, but Zuko sensed that it wasn't anything good. There was one more faint echo and then something in the tunnel began to rumble. Katara didn't know what to do, so instinctively she edged nearer to Zuko. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

He pushed Katara forcefully to the side and she hit the wall with a tremendous impact. Instantly Zuko shot his arms up, with that a blaze of fire flying upwards. Ice cold water fell down onto Zuko, and he sighed with relief. Katara got up, shaking her head. She immediately sprung up to him.

"What was the big idea? You want to_ kill _me, or something? Is that your plan?"

"_Kill_ you? I just saved your life! I never knew you were so ungrateful!"

Katara looked livid and aghast.

"Ungrateful? I, ungrateful? It is _you_ who are ungrateful! Because of my mother, you are still alive!"

"I know that! And I _am_ grateful, did you not hear me thank your mother from the bottom of my heart?"

Oh right. Katara softened her expression and avoided looking at his eyes.

"Sorry… and thanks…"

She couldn't resist any longer and so she smiled and looked up at him. But her smile disappeared instantly because the look on Zuko's face made her feel sick. Katara had said too many hurtful things to him, and now it seemed that he would be forever scarred because of that.

"You're welcome."

He turned around and looked at the wall at the end of the tunnel. His hands ran up and down it, trying to see if there was a secret door of some sort. The only two options, he concluded, were to either use fire bending, or water bending.

"Do you want to try that trick your mother used?"

Katara nodded and stepped forwards. She breathed in deeply and placed her hands on the wall. When she exhaled, the wall seemed to disappear from her fingertips. Ahead of them seemed like another tunnel or cave. They stepped through to the other side, and Katara rebuilt the wall, just like Shira had done. Inside, it felt like someone was stabbing her heart. Every second that passed by she felt more alone. But Zuko was there with her right? Right… Zuko, the only person she had left to rely on, and she had messed that up too.

Suddenly, Katara shivered as she felt a light breeze on her face. The fire in Zuko's torch was gone, and only a strand of smoke was left. He left it on the ground, and then extended a hand to Katara.

"Are you ready? Your mother said we would be able to find the tundra… and so here it is."

She nodded bravely and the two of them walked out of the small cave. Instantly, she stepped back when they saw the miles upon miles of white snow. Heaps of it was everywhere and Zuko gave Katara her parka. He slipped his on as well and the two of them started heading out into the wintry tundra. Thankfully there wasn't a blizzard. Not yet anyways.

The sharp wind diced Katara's face and Zuko felt it in him to uphold his promise. So he walked in front of her, so that the wind wouldn't fly into her face as painfully. He was used to this however. One wouldn't have expected that of a person born of the fire nation, but it was all the traveling that helped him. They walked on and on, trying to find someplace far enough so that a search party couldn't find them. And sure enough, they did have to worry about that.

..:-:..

"What?"

"Yes… I am afraid that it is very true."

Sokka fell down into his chair and sat there stunned. There was no way it could have been true, that his sister was dead and gone forever to be up in the skies as the moon spirit.

"How?"

It was the only word he could manage to speak. Inside, a tornado of emotions was spinning, waiting to erupt.

"It is said that the prisoner Zuko, was with Haan, Katara and Yue herself in the temple. The moon spirit was killed, and by touching it, Yue became the moon spirit. From what I have heard, it was Zuko's fault, and Katara was protecting him."

"Traitors!" his voice boomed throughout the whole room, "where are they? I swear I will kill them!"

"No need Prince Sokka. They are sentenced to execution at sunrise."

He eased back into his chair and through gritted teeth he snarled.

"Good."

Suddenly another guard burst through the doors and into the room. Sokka looked up curiously.

"The prisoners! They have… escaped!"

His eyes narrowed and he slammed his fist into the table. Sokka's tornado was heading north.

"I'll find them… and then kill them myself."

..:-:..

The moon shined brightly in the sky up above, casting a sad light on the two travelers. Every time Katara looked at it, her sister, she felt guilty. But Yue had said that she shouldn't blame anyone… not herself or Zuko… and most importantly, Yue said _she_ was sorry. After a while, Katara realized that Zuko was slowing down. Anyone would have become tired after walking who knows how many miles, if it were that anyways. So she boldly stepped in front of him, and started to walk, the wind cutting her face like ice. But she gritted her teeth and walked on. Zuko saw this and grabbed her arm, so that she was facing him.

"What do you think you are doing?"

She pulled away her arm from him and snapped back.

"Don't think that you are the only one here capable of leading the way! Even if it is the tundra!"

Katara turned around and started to walk on forward. A small smile crept on Zuko's lips. She sure did have a fiery attitude when it came to her pride. Inside he was thankful as well, because he was in fact becoming tired of it all. Hopefully they would find a spot somewhere, and soon. Katara found it a bit more difficult to walk on, but she pushed herself. She wanted to show Zuko that she wasn't someone who was fable and not capable of handling herself. She was strong, and had great power.

That was it. She had power. Katara could water bend.

She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before, but now as the snow began to fall down, she pushed her arms forward, causing the snowflakes to fall to her sides. She had a clear straight path. Her arms began to grow weary after a while, and so she let her guard down. Instantly, the pack of snow pushed in on Zuko and Katara, literally pushing them back. Zuko recovered first, and stood up, giving a helping hand to Katara. She stood up but marched away confidently through the blizzard. She wasn't weak. She was strong. She could handle anything.

Her eyes widened, as out of nowhere the ground beneath her cracked and gave way.

"Katara!"

Zuko was only able to see her arms falling into the ground and he dived near the whole. He saw her head bobbing up and down slowly on the surface of the water, which was beginning to freeze again. This time, he panicked. He didn't want to use his fire bending, because it might hurt her, but as each second passed by, he grew wearier as the snow pounded into his face. No more time to think, he pushed his arms forward, and hoped that it would work. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it had. His fire had formed a circle, so that Katara was left unscarred. The ice around her was now gone, and he saw more of her body floating upwards. Quickly, he pulled her out of the water, and carried her away from the thin surface.

The snow still pounded on his face, and his vision was blurred. He had to find shelter now, or something else could happen. He could lose Katara. Determined with a new force of energy, Zuko pushed onwards, step by step, until finally he didn't feel the snow anymore. His eyes blinked and he saw that he was in the entrance of a cave. His heart did a back flip in his chest and he beamed with happiness. Even better yet, Katara was beginning to stir in his arms. She coughed out some water, and then Zuko let her stand up.

"Where are we?"

"A cave I think…"

She nodded and then with the rest of her strength, Katara walked over to the entrance. Outside, she saw the dim outline of the moon vanishing from the sky. She smiled; Yue was now going to look after her, just like her sister should have done all along. Katara sighed and brought up her hands. She winced as the hard and stiff snow piled upwards to form a wall. The light was gone, and the cave was dark. So Katara focused on her surroundings, and washed the wall of snow with melted snow, so that it froze together. The two of them could hear the faintness of the whizzing wind, and Katara, finally feeling like she could stop, did. Zuko immediately caught her as she fell down to the ground.

He gently set her down on the little amount of snow that covered the ground on the inside of the cave. First thing was first, he needed to start a fire. Zuko kicked around and thankfully he found a pile of sticks. His fire lit the pile, and soon he could see the outline of the cave. Hurriedly, Zuko rushed over to Katara and saw that her teeth were chattering and that beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. This wasn't good.

"Zuko… Zu…ko…"

Her voice was barely audible and her mouth parted only slightly. Zuko felt so guilty. Because she wanted to lead the way, she had caught a cold. He knew that she had never ventured out into the frozen landscape of the tundra, so why had he let her do it? Maybe it was because he had a small grudge against her for saying the things she said? Well now it didn't matter. Katara was sick, and he needed to tend to her immediately.

"Shh… don't talk… I'm right here."

He cupped some snow into his hands and put it on her forehead. The snow melted almost instantly but at least she wasn't quavering as much now. There was nothing really in the cave, but Zuko thought of something. He thought of how all the way in the north, Katara still had a place where grass grew. So Zuko bent down, and touched the snow on the ground with the flame in his hand. The layers weren't so thick, and within seconds, the snow melted into the green grass. Zuko rejoiced and began to melt a portion of the cave that had snow on the ground. Soon, the cave had turned into a resemblance of the spiritual temple that Katara had gone to. He heard her murmur and knelt down beside her.

"What is it Katara?"

"Water…"

Of course she needed to drink some water. He scooped up some more snow, and melted it into her mouth, so that it resembled somewhat of a drinking fountain. Katara kept her eyes closed and swallowed the water. It felt soothing riding down her throat but suddenly she felt pricks on her spine, and she started to shiver again.

"Cold… so cold…"

Zuko winced as he saw her quivering from the inside pain. He felt her forehead and recoiled his hand quickly. She was burning up really fast; Katara must have been sicker than he at first thought. His thoughts scrambled around in his head, trying to think of something that would help her. All he had was his own parka and himself. An idea sprung into his head, and he slipped off his parka. Zuko placed it over her as a blanket, and then he placed her on the patch of grass, which was starting to emit some warmth from the fire a few feet away.

Nothing. She still shivered and kept repeating, "Cold… I'm cold…"

Well if two parkas weren't enough to keep her warm, what was? She was right next to the fire already, what else could give her warmth? Suddenly, Zuko began to feel a bit uncomfortable. He remembered what his uncle had told him. The way to bring down a fever was to give the person… body heat.

Zuko decided that maybe she didn't really need that much heat, and that maybe he was just exaggerating the situation. But then he looked at how much pain she was in, and how her fragile body shook violently time and time again. He inhaled deeply, deciding he had to do it if he was to save her. Zuko took off his robe, and then he unbuttoned his tunic. That's as far as he would go, nothing more than that. He knelt down next to her, and pulled off her parka gently, putting it on the ground next to them as a blanket. Reluctantly, Zuko began to untie her kimono…

He sighed with relief to see that Katara was wearing a red nightgown under it… a beautiful, sleek red nightgown that is. A blush spread across Zuko's cheeks, but he turned serious when he saw how much she really was shivering. Her skin felt like ice and he concentrated, trying to bring all of the heat within him to the highest level without making it dangerous. He lied down on the two parkas and gathered Katara in his arms tightly. Her bare shoulders quaked, so he started to caress her back and hold her in close to him by her waist.

"Katara… you're going to be fine… you'll be just fine… I promise…"

At the sudden sound of his voice, Katara began to relax, bit by bit, and soon she was resting peacefully in his arms. He continued to stroke her back, and she placed her hands on his bare chest, feeling the heat radiate from his skin. After a while, her cheeks became flushed, and Zuko realized that he had done it. She was finally back to normal, and her fever was gone. He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the joy at the sight. His heart felt like it soared to the top of his chest and a tear shed down his cheek. This girl made his life complete, and without her, he wouldn't know what to do. Zuko had finally understood this, after being so close to losing her.

Katara was coming back from her state of unconsciousness and she felt a surprising warmth spread through her feet up through her shoulders, and down to her arms to her fingertips. She felt an arm around her waist, and another one wrapped around her shoulders. Suddenly she realized that she could really _feel_ the skin of the arm on her shoulders. Her eyes shot open to see Zuko's exhausted sleeping face up above her head. Katara's heart started to pound madly. He was shirtless and she was… in her nightgown. She felt even hotter on her cheeks, but she quickly cooled herself down. Zuko's pants were still on. She sighed with relief, and let her head fall lightly onto his chest. But even though it hadn't made that much of an impact, Zuko still felt it and his eyes opened right away.

"Katara?"

She lifted her head up, and when she saw his tired eyes, she smiled fondly.

"Thank you Zuko."

Katara reached one hand up to his neck, and pulled on it lightly so that she could kiss him on his cheek. At the touch of her lips on his cheek, Zuko woke up fully and smiled.

"I'm so glad that you're okay."

He stroked her hair and looked at her with deep concern and sincerity. She smiled meekly and looked down at his chest, then his arms, and then back up to his eyes. She never really knew that he was so sculpted and good looking. Zuko saw the firelight dancing on her face and on her red nightgown. Her hair loosely fell onto her shoulders and down her back. She was extremely gorgeous at that moment, more than he had ever thought her to be. When she looked back at him, her sapphire eyes connected with his and he steadily brushed his fingers on her cheek.

"Katara, I never meant what I said back in the cell… about you just dealing with not seeing me again. I'm sorry I said it… I didn't want to hurt you like that…"

She leaned into him a bit more and her voice was hushed.

"Really?"

Zuko leaned in closer as well.

"Really."

The embers sparked and crackled in the cave as the two of them kissed each other. They had held back so much since the last time their lips touched, and now everything spilled out openly. Zuko embraced her with deep passion and she responded by tenderly kissing him back. For a moment, Zuko pulled away and whispered quietly to her.

"Katara, I love you…"

She sighed happily and rested her head on his chest.

"I love you too Zuko."

They watched the flames of fire flicker, and Zuko just kept a strong hold on Katara. He never wanted to let go of her, he was afraid he would lose her just like he almost had. She reached up to his shoulders, and pulled herself up to his face. Katara kissed him and pulled back slightly.

"You don't have to worry about losing me Zuko… I'm not going anywhere…"

She said this with a playful smile, and then she began to kiss him, starting with his cheek, and going down his neck. He rolled to his side, and pushed her against the ground teasingly. Zuko kissed her neck softly and she let out a small moan. Unknown to them, the fire a few feet away was rising with more strength each second. Finally, the two stopped and noticed when the wall of snow melted and they felt the cold breeze sweep into the cave. They stood up and Katara shivered, her nightgown not providing any warmth at all. She quickly raised her hands, making another wall, and Zuko tended to the fire, calming it down. He walked over to her after putting on his tunic, and he helped her slip into her kimono. Katara smiled and Zuko laughed.

"I didn't know I was _that_ happy about us…"

She laughed along with him, knowing he was referring to how big the fire had gotten. Suddenly a cloud of smoke surrounded the two of them. It came from deep inside the cave and Katara waved her arms so that the cloud disappeared. Both Zuko and Katara stepped back when they saw a little boy emerge. He waved at them happily and smiled.

"Hi! My name is Aang! What's yours?"

Katara's mouth hung open and Zuko shielded her with an arm across her shoulder.

"I am Zuko. This is Katara. Who are you?"

Aang looked around curiously and saw the two parkas on the floor.

"Oh! You two must be water benders! That's really cool! Do you know any tricks?"

Zuko calmed down his defense at once. This was only a little kid; there was no need to worry. Katara seemed amused by him, and she laughed.

"I'm the water bender. Zuko is a fire bender."

"A fire bender! Wow! This is great! … So, what are you two doing here?"

Zuko and Katara looked at one another and Katara nodded.

"Well, Aang, you see… I am… I mean, I _was_ a Princess of the northern water tribe. But I was sentenced to hang along with Zuko, so we ran away. It's a long story."

His eyes bulged and a big smile formed on his face.

"Wow! Me too! I didn't want to be the avatar, so I ran away! Oops!"

He clapped a hand over his mouth as he let the secret slip out. Zuko and Katara looked at him with amazement. But Zuko wasn't wholly convinced.

"You're the avatar? Prove it."

Aang loved the challenge so he did.

"I think the two of you should put your parkas on."

"Why?"

"Just do it! I want to show you something!"

Zuko handed Katara her parka, and the two of them slipped their parkas over their heads.

"Stand back!"

They did as they were told, and Aang slid his hands together, and then pushed them towards the wall of snow. Instantly, a vacuum of air shot at it, and the wall was pushed outside. A small rise of smoke erupted and the cold wind zapped inside. Suddenly, from within the cave, came a rumbling sound. Aang knew what it was.

"Zuko, Katara, got out of here now!"

They followed him and soon a giant shaggy animal came out of the cave. Zuko couldn't believe his eyes.

"What, what is that thing?"

"Oh! Meet Appa! He's my flying bison!"

Katara's eyes sparked with happiness.

"You mean, he can _fly_ in the air?"

"Sure can!"

"Wow… then I guess you _are_ the avatar. It was said that you were an air bender."

"I sure am, but listen. I don't want to go on bragging about it or anything. It's not like I asked to be the avatar or anything. So can we just forget about it?"

Katara put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Sure thing Aang. But don't you need to learn how to water bend, and fire bend as well? Zuko and I could teach you. Right Zuko?"

She edged him with her elbow in his rib cage and he winced slightly.

"Uh, yeah. Why not? But in turn, you have to help us escape."

Aang's eyes lit up with excitement.

"All right! It's a deal!"

..:-:..

Sokka trudged forward on the tundra with his armed troops and when he saw the cloud of dust arise, he smirked.

"Found you."

..:-:..

"Well, okay, first thing is first, you have to bow to Appa."

Zuko and Katara shrugged their shoulders and they did that.

"Okay now repeat after me. Appa, you are the best bison on the earth…"

This was a bit too much, and Zuko and Katara didn't say it, but they didn't get a chance to because they heard an all too familiar voice.

"I'm going to kill you both!"

They spun around to see Sokka snarling at them angrily. Katara immediately thought of what Yue had said.

"Sokka, Yue wanted me to tell you not to blame anyone for her death, and to tell you that she will always be with you."

"Hah. I don't believe a word of that! Why would she say that to _you_?"

She started to get defensive.

"She changed Sokka! She apologized to me! Unlike you, who I see still has a grudge!"

Zuko stepped up in front of Katara and took a fighting stance.

"I see you still like protecting my good for nothing excuse of a sister. That doesn't matter though, you're going to pay for what you did to Yue!"

He charged at Zuko with a spear, but the spear caught on fire from Zuko's blast, and Sokka was forced to drop it to the ground. Zuko swung his leg at his head, and Sokka fell down to the ground. He smirked and Katara smiled joyously at Sokka's defeat. But her smile disappeared, as she saw the mass of troops and water benders following up the hill. Zuko backed away and overshadowed Katara. Aang looked on dumfounded, but quickly realized that the enemy wasn't his newfound friends. So he took out his staff, and swung it around violently in circles. Katara held onto Zuko so that she wouldn't be flung off. The army retreated and Aang jumped up on Appa.

"Come on you two! Before that guy wakes up!"

Zuko and Katara climbed onto Appa's back and settled in comfortably on the saddle.

"Yip yip!"

Suddenly, they were thrust backwards as the huge animal lifted into the sky. Katara laughed out with amusement and Zuko just gaped at the sensation of flying in the air. Down below, Sokka started to lift his head slowly. He saw the large bison fly away into the clouds, and it disappeared.

"I'll get you. I swear it."

Up in the sky, Aang steered Appa towards the south.

"Aang where are we headed?"

"I don't know…"

"How about the earth kingdom? You need to find someone who knows how to earth bend."

Zuko thought deeply, and then an idea came to mind.

"Hey Aang? How about we make a quick detour?"

Katara looked at Zuko curiously, but Aang nodded happily.

"What do you have in mind Zuko?"

"Oh, you'll see Katara. I just have to… say hello to an old friend…"

* * *

**A/N:** Hmmm… this chapter was a lot shorter than my other ones… but that's how it goes lol… Sadly this fic only has one more chapter, and it's probably not going to be that long… just a sum up and stuff…

Was there too much fluff? I don't know… I just thought that they needed to finally say those things lol And I bet you didn't expect me to bring in Aang, now did you? lol I love twists, don't you? lol

**Have a great day!**

-Monika-


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The wind ruffled against their faces and the sun gleamed into their eyes. The water shimmered below, and everything was just fine. Katara smiled as she inhaled the fresh air.

"Aang, this is so great! Being in the air is amazing!"

The avatar nodded and smiled broadly. Zuko peered over the edge of the saddle and then recoiled back quickly. If it wasn't necessary to look down, he didn't have to.

"Yup. Being in the air," he stretched out his arms against the saddle, "is great."

He continued smiling broadly, and Katara laughed. Aang felt like he was soaring even higher than before. She was the first girl he had seen, and she was quite beautiful. Although she was a bit older than him he guessed. Suddenly, as Zuko turned back towards them, he put an arm over Katara's shoulders and she leaned against his chest. Aang's smile disappeared and instead there was an inquisitive frown on his face. It deepened when he saw Zuko kiss Katara's head lightly. She closed her eyes and smiled. Aang cleared his throat and she opened them again, sitting up against Zuko now.

"I was just watching the two of you, and I was wondering… are you two married?"

A blush spread over Katara's cheeks, and Zuko laughed mildly.

"No, no we're not married."

Aang's smile came back.

"But we might be soon,"

At Zuko's remark, both Katara and Aang looked at him wide eyed.

"you never know…"

He winked at Katara and she laughed her nerves away. For a moment she thought he was going to propose to her. Didn't he know she didn't want that yet? At least not now… Well she knew he was just teasing with her. However Aang could tell clearly that Katara was taken, and so he sighed deeply. Oh well… maybe he would see more girls like Katara sometime soon.

"So, Zuko, where are we going? I need to tell Appa to go in a specific direction."

Zuko nodded and pondered for a while before responding.

"We are going to the fire nation."

"What?" Both Katara and Aang looked at him wide eyed again.

"Katara, remember what I told you about my family?"

She nodded and Aang piped in confused.

"What about them?"

"I was banished from the fire nation because I supposedly played a very mean trick on my cousin, who so happens to be the Princess of the Fire nation."

Aang took the time to process the new information and then nodded.

"So I was hoping we could go take a visit to my dear cousin, _Zula._ I would like to _earn_ my banishment, if you know what I mean…"

Zuko caught a gleam in Aang's eyes and then Katara frowned.

"Zuko, I don't know if this is such a good idea."

"Why not? We got your brother, didn't we?"

"Well yes… but that was what he deserved."

Zuko pulled away from her slightly and looked at her with a serious tone in his eyes.

"Don't worry Katara. Zula deserves this, just as much as Sokka did, and maybe even more."

She could tell that he was serious about this, so she smiled and agreed. Next stop: the Fire Nation capitol.

..:-:..

In the distance, Zuko saw the towering buildings and homes of the fire nation. Bitter memories replayed through his mind and inside he felt relieved to know that Katara and Aang were on his side. This time, he would leave home with a feeling of true self-earned banishment, of course with the help of an air, and water bender.

Appa glided over the towers, and the three of them jumped off, and hid in the shadows. The guards were all paying attention to the big flying bison heading away from city, so they all went after it, leaving a very open space for Katara, Zuko and Aang to get into their positions. Zuko smirked; he was back, and this time he would make sure Zula never thought again to ruin his life. But then again, because of it, he had met, and fallen in love with the most amazing woman he had met in his life. He looked over to Katara, and smiled. She looked curious as to why he was smiling at her, but she just laughed it off. Suddenly, the three of them froze as they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Zuko breathed in deeply, and readied himself.

Zula had just finished a rigorous training hour, and she was going back to her room to relax for a bit. Sure, it was fun kicking and beating the living daylights out of the nation's soldiers, but it was also nice to have some alone time while soaking in a tub full of warm water, maybe even with some bubbles. She was a girl of course; she wasn't fully evil.

She opened the door to her room and walked in, sighing as she slammed the door shut. It was so nice to be here, but something didn't seem quite right. Zula spun around to the door, and then let her arms fall to her sides after seeing that no one was there. She shrugged and proceeded to her bed where she took off her armor. Afterwards, she let her hair fall loosely to her shoulders.

Zula heard the slightest movement, and spun around just in time to see Zuko leaning against one wall, smirking. She was shocked, but it faded away quickly, and she too brought a smirk to her lips.

"So, after all this time, you finally decide to come back."

"Of course, how could I not visit my dear old cousin while stopping by?"

She laughed and sent fire towards him, which he just dodged with a wave of his arm. Zuko stepped forwards and smirked.

"Why Zula, I didn't know you were so kind and caring! We haven't seen each other for _so_ long, and you greet me with a fight. I don't know what to say! It's such a wonderful and comforting way to greet me!"

Zula scoffed and stepped up to him.

"What do you want Zuko? Why are you here?"

Inside, Zuko was gloating. His plan was coming along perfectly. Zula was dropping her guard each second.

"I just really missed your fun loving way of life Zula. I truly do miss… all the torture you put me through!"

At that moment, he gripped her wrists, and sent flames out of the palms of his hands. She screamed out in agony, and then he withdrew a feet back towards the wall to observe her. Zula wasn't able to hold onto either hand and all she could do was just feel the hot burning tears fall down her cheeks. She looked up from her eyes, to his, and gave Zuko a death glare.

"I swear to you, when my father learns of what you done…"

"Oh, my! Do you need some help there? Maybe I could heal that for you! It's such a nasty burn!"

Zula stopped dead sentence when she saw the girl walk into the room from some hidden place. The door hadn't opened, and it was like she appeared out of thin air. From the looks of it, she was a person from the water tribe. Probably someone her father had hired to heal people in need of it; like her. Zula smirked at Zuko as Katara approached her with a bowl of water.

"Of course you can! My stupid cousin has burned my wrists and I can't do anything about it, so you have to heal me, now!"

Katara put her hands into the bowl, and when Zula said this, her blue eyes shot up at her, and they were smirking.

"Wrong answer."

Zula was caught off guard, as the girl sent the water at her, and then she waved her hands so that the bowl of water froze on her wrists. Quickly, Katara froze the rest of her soaking form, all except for Zula's head.

"Zuko! Help me! This wretch is trying to kill me!"

Zuko stepped up next to Katara and put a hand on her shoulder. Katara smiled at him and Zuko the same. Zula was going nuts trying to figure out what was going on. Why was her cousin smiling at the intruder?

"So, are you saying you want me to do something to Katara?"

"YES! Tackle her down, do something! She doesn't deserve to be able to move a single muscle!"

"Oh! So you want me to _do_ something to her!"

"Yes you idiot! Now!"

"Okay then, I will."

He turned to Katara, grabbed her tightly and she winced and yelped. Zula smirked but then was stunned when Zuko pulled the girl into a passionate embrace. Katara pulled away also stunned by his sudden touch of affection. Zuko winked at her and she laughed. Zula couldn't take it anymore. She felt like she was going to explode, and no muscle in her body could move because she was frozen in place. Suddenly, Zuko grabbed Katara aside, as a strong wind blew into the room. All Zula could do was close her eyes as she felt her body temperature drop rapidly. That was when it hit her. How stupid she had been.

Aang stepped next to Katara and Zuko smiling.

"So, can we go Zuko?"

At that moment though, Zula broke free of the ice around her, after she grew her body temperature back to a hot heat. In her eyes was pure vengeance.

"You are going to pay Zuko! I swear it!"

Quickly, she moved her body down to the ground, and even with burned wrists, she painfully spun them in circles creating two large spinning flames. They dove at Zuko, but he sent his own flames right back at her. Aang twirled his staff and sent the other flame directly back at Zula. She wasn't expecting this, and so she went flying back, forcefully hitting the iron wall behind her. Zula fell to the ground and didn't move, but they knew she was just taking her time. Zuko motioned for Katara and Aang to get ready to leave.

"Zula, I sincerely hope that one day, you will remember this, and that others will as well. I wish upon you mockery and unceasing discord from your humble fire nation followers. Good luck, I bid you only the worst."

He spit at the ground in front of her and sprinted out. When Zula picked up her head, the door was closed, and for a second she thought if she had just imagined it all. Then she felt the searing pain in her wrists and yelled out in fury.

"I'll get you Zuko! I swear it!"

..:-:..

Zuko, Katara and Aang didn't have too much trouble spotting the flying bison. He was approaching the tower quickly and the distant roars of angry men were coming closer. The three of them made sure the coast was clear, knocking down a few soldiers on the way. Appa landed down on the ramps and Aang and Zuko had to dodge the arrows and fire blasts that were headed towards them. They jumped up onto Appa with the help of Aang's air bending and then Appa started upwards towards the clouds. There was one last fire blast attempt, and Aang knocked it back with his staff. Each of them sighed with relief as they found themselves up within the mix of clouds again, soaring away from the city.

"That was so much fun Zuko! We should do it more often! Do you have any other friends we can go pay back?"

Aang punched one fist into the palm of his other hand in amusement. Katara laughed at this and Zuko smiled.

"We'll see Aang, we'll see. But for now, how about some rest? That was fun, but it did take a lot out of me, I don't know about you though. You're the avatar, and you probably have … a lot of strength…"

As he finished his statement, Zuko saw that Aang had fallen asleep automatically. Katara stifled her giggles and she cuddled up to Zuko. She yawned and he stroked her hair gently.

"So, what did you think of my cousin?"

She gave another yawn and closed her eyes, smiling.

"Zula? I'd say she definitely was really nice and warm hearted. After all, I just love getting shot at with fire, it's how you almost greeted me."

He laughed slightly at her sarcasm and then tilted his head to rest upon hers. Appa wasn't flying as fast as before, and the calmness of their surroundings was so peaceful, that they soon fell sound asleep.

..:-:..

Zula pushed herself up as she heard her father's yells coming down the hall.

"Where is she? Where is Zula?"

She winced at hearing his loud and booming voice. Sometimes, she feared it, she feared him. After all, he was the fire lord. The next thing she knew, he was in the doorway, standing there, his eyes gleaming with anger.

"Zula, what is the meaning of this? The whole east side of the palace is destroyed!"

She bowed her head down, as she knelt down before him. Zula couldn't respond, and this only made him angrier.

"Answer me!"

She looked up slowly, and her voice was barely as loud as a whisper.

"It was … Zuko, father. He and the avatar, and his foul water bending girlfriend!"

He was a bit shocked at her last statement, and he didn't respond right away. No one knew the avatar was back, but everyone knew that it was an air bender, which clearly Zula knew he was. And no one knew that Zuko had a girl friend either.

"So, you're telling me, that Zuko was_ here,_ with you?"

"Yes father! Look what he did to me!"

She had changed tactics. Maybe if she would play the hurt little girl like before, then maybe he wouldn't blame it on her. Zula showed him her wrists, and he grabbed them, so that she yelled out in pain. She was now eye level with him.

"So you're telling me that you were weak enough to allow him to do this, and _escape_?"

"But he had help!"

"I don't care if he had a whole army with him! You should have protected your nation and won! You don't deserve to have these burns healed. I'll make _sure_ of that!"

The next thing she knew, her eyes widened and her scream was silent, as her father did the exact same thing as Zuko did. Now her wrists would forever be scarred.

..:-:..

The sun was beginning to set, and the three people on the flying bison were beginning to wake up. Ahead of them, the forest grew thin and there seemed to be a small village down there. Aang put a hand up to his stomach as it growled loudly.

"Um, guys? Is it okay if we stop to get something to eat? I'm starving!"

At the mention of food, both Katara's and Zuko's stomach growled from hunger as well. They smiled weakly and nodded.

"Okay then! Appa, let's go get some food!"

They landed in the thick forest so that Appa wouldn't be questioned. When they got down, Katara's legs started to wobble and Zuko had to help her walk. He smiled suddenly, when he decided to pick her up in his arms. This time she was fully awake and conscious so she laughed and squealed at the sudden height between her and the ground. Aang was flying up and down on his glider, heading towards the village. When they got to the entrance, he stopped flying and made the glider into its regular staff position. Katara insisted that she could walk again.

"Zuko put me down! I can walk just fine!"

"Oh really? I don't think so!"

"Yes I can! Aang, tell him I can!"

"Uh, Zuko, Katara can walk on her own two legs!"

He smiled broadly and Zuko just chuckled.

"Okay, fine."

He let go of Katara completely, sending her rapidly towards the ground. Aang reacted just in time, and bended the air between the two, so that she landed on the ground softly. He helped her get up, and then when she did, Katara marched up to Zuko angrily.

"What was that for?"

"What? You said you could walk on your own! I didn't do _anything_ wrong!"

He laughed, and she turned away from him fuming. They began to walk through the village.

"Katara, come on! I didn't mean it! Can't you take a joke?"

Aang was too busy looking at the cart with the bison whistles to notice that Katara and Zuko were still fighting.

"No! Because that _wasn't_ a joke! It wasn't funny at all!"

She crossed her arms, and Zuko came up from behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Katara pushed him away angrily, but he persisted, until he was in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her, and she couldn't get away from him. She stopped struggling when she felt his hot breath on her neck.

"Katara, please forgive me. I'm sorry. I just wanted to see how fast Aang could react. He is a good friend, isn't he?"

At this she looked up at Zuko's face and a small smile crept up on her lips.

"Yeah, I guess he is."

Zuko took her aside into an alley and he kissed her passionately. His lips licked hers delicately and Katara wrapped her arms around his neck and back. It felt so nice to just be with him alone. Aang was such a nuisance sometimes, but at least they had a flying bison as transportation. After a few minutes, they stopped and decided to go back to see what Aang was up to. Zuko didn't think much of it, but he walked in front of Katara. When he got to the entrance of the alley, he stopped.

"Katara, where do you think he went?"

There was no answer. Zuko spun around and his eyes widened when he saw the blue kimono disappearing into the back of the alley.

"Katara!"

He ran back and when he got closer, he could make out three figures circling Katara. One had tied a cloth around her mouth, another was holding her arms back, and the last one was laughing manically as he slithered his dirty hand around her neck. He was beginning to slip his hand down her neck, and down her chest. Everything in Zuko snapped. His anger came to a full boil, and he exploded with rage.

"Get your dirty hands off of her you bastard!"

The man turned around viscously and gave Zuko an angry look. It so happened that Zuko had interrupted the man's best catch for the day, and he was going to pay. From behind him, he could see Katara's wide blue eyes, calling out to him. Zuko yelled with fury as he charged towards the man. The old dirty man didn't expect for Zuko to send a fire blast at him, and so he was knocked down automatically. The other two saw how powerful Zuko was, and so they ran away down the rest of the alley. Zuko quickly ran to Katara, and untied her hands. Then he untied the cloth in her mouth, and when he did, Katara hugged him, and held onto him fiercely. She sobbed into his chest, and all Zuko did was caress her in his arms.

"Zuko… oh Zuko, I don't know what would have happened if not for you…"

"Shh… it's okay. I'm here. I'll always be here for you, you know that…"

She nodded and they started to make their way out of the alley. As they did, Katara kicked the old man in the ribs.

"Don't ever mess with any other girls, you filthy bastard! Or I'll send the fire lord to get you!"

When they got out into the light of the setting sun, Katara laughed.

"Why did you tell him that? You know my uncle would never do that."

"Oh, I know. But _he_ doesn't."

He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I don't know what my life would be like if not for you."

"Oh Zuko, I could tell you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You would be stuck in the freezing water of the northern water tribe, because Yue would have said so."

He grabbed her by the waist and tickled her. She laughed and pushed him away.

"Stop! Zuko, stop it!"

He did and smirked. Aang came up to them suddenly, and made each of them jump.

"Oh! Aang, it's only you!"

"Yeah, it's me! Who else did you think it could be?"

Katara and Zuko gave each other a look, but Katara smiled.

"No one I guess. So, did you get everything?"

"No! But check this out! It's a bison whistle!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and Katara laughed.

"Aang, instead of food, you bought a _whistle_?"

"Yeah! It's so cool!"

He blew on the whistle, and was left standing, as Zuko and Katara walked over to the food cart next to them. Aang frowned, but let it go, and decided to walk up to them. Zuko paid for the food and when they turned around, an unexpected visitor greeted them. Aang smiled broadly.

"Appa!"

He climbed up onto the saddle, and motioned for Zuko and Katara to do the same. Quickly, Appa rose into the air and the three of them waved good-bye to all the on lookers down below. When they were out of sight, they began to dig in to the food. After a while, and after rationizing the food for the next day, they found a forest farther away, and made camp for the night.

"I think I'm going to sleep right… here…"

Aang fell onto a pile of leaves and fell to sleep right away. Katara smiled and Zuko did the same. He started a fire and then Katara went to go sit down next to him. She leaned on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. They watched the fire crackle and spurt out small flickering sparks.

"Katara… I always thought I wasn't lucky. But now I think I am."

She looked up at his eyes and smiled.

"Because I have you."

Katara leaned up her hand to his cheek and kissed him gently.

"Don't worry Zuko. Remember, I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled and waved a hand over the fire so that it died out. Katara cuddled up to him, and Zuko pulled her in close to him. The moonlight shined down on the two of them as they fell asleep. Two people who had met under unique circumstances, and even though it wasn't allowed, even though they were so different, they fought the rules and found a way to fall in love.

* * *

**ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTE – IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!**

Yes, this is the last author's note for **_Captured Hearts_**! I just want to thank every single person that read this, and I wanted to especially thank those of you that reviewed! And even more, for those who continuously showed their support, giving me numerous reviews! If it weren't for that, I don't know if this would have been possible! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

Now, for a special announcement! (Hopefully) Next weekend, I will have up my **new** Zutara fic! It is called **_Secrets_** and it will be set as a normal fic, (no special circumstances like here, where Katara was a princess lol) For those of you who like my fics to be longer (yes, I know, some of you are probably really sad that this fic only had ten chapters) WELL… **_Secrets_** is going to have… **15** chapters! Yup! I've planned it out… and I think it's going to be great! So be sure to look out for that!

Finally, I'd just like to say what a hard thing it is for me to write this much! I never in a million years, thought I would write such a long fic! (44,000 words plus!) I can't believe how much support I've had! Close to 5000 hits, and over 100 reviews! I'm amazed that you guys like it so much, and I am really really grateful that you support me! Thank you so much!

And I wish for you**, TO HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!** Until next time,

-Monika-


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